Arsenal are essentially Everton if you remove their most important player

Adrian Durham argues Arsenal's Carabao Cup exit to League Two Fleetwood Town exposes their dependence on Declan Rice, claiming the side becomes 'basically Everton' without him.

Arsenal crashed out of the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, with teenager Max Dowman sent off five minutes from time. Declan Rice was rested for the match, and despite Mikel Arteta introducing captain Martin Odegaard and summer signing Bruno Guimaraes as second-half substitutes, the Gunners could not find a winner.

TalkSPORT's Adrian Durham used the defeat to highlight Rice's importance to Arsenal. He argued that without the £100m midfielder, Arsenal become "basically Everton", praising Rice's phenomenal numbers, assist rate, and game management. Durham noted Rice's 50-plus goal involvements in three and a half seasons and described him as world-class, placing him among England's elite players alongside Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.