Arsenal legend Ray Parlour on Declan Rice's impact, potential transfers and more

When Tribal Football last spoke to Parlour in July he was cautiously optimistic and now three months on he is not prone to stretching any further than, "they certainly have a good squad" and "they have a real good opportunity if they can improve on their mistakes from last season".

"It's a long hard road and there's going to be a few bumps in that road, but it is all down to how you react to those bumps. You must respond very quickly and bounce back, that was what we were good at in the teams I played in with Arsenal. When we did get a knockback, we made sure the next game was important to us."

Have you seen any signs that they have improved from last season? 

"Well, Declan Rice has been a great signing. People are talking about him costing 100 million and how much money that is. Of course, it's a lot of money but people are not talking so much about the money now, are they?" Parlour asks rhetorically before making a comparison. 

"It is a bit like when Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk. It was all: 'Oh no, 75 million for a centre half, you can't do that!' But if you can sign a player that'll get you closer to winning titles, it is money well spent in my opinion. I'd much rather spend 100 million on Declan Rice than getting two players in for 50 million each."

How satisfied are you with the squad so far? 

"I am really pleased they kept Gabriel and (William) Saliba. The latter has improved again this season. The only area where Arsenal might be a bit thin is the centre-forward area. In my time with Arsenal, we always had four top-class strikers and one season we even had five!

"I know they have players like (Leandro) Trossard and (Gabriel) Martinelli, but they are better as wide players in my opinion, so maybe that is something Edu and Arteta need to look into and see who is available."

Eddie Nketiah came in and scored three against Sheffield United does he have what it takes to be the first choice up front? 

"I hope so, it was brilliant for him to get his first hat-trick and I hope he can continue to develop into a top striker. But again, if one is injured like Gabriel Jesus is now, they only have one real striker and that looks a little bit light.

"Strikers win you games, it is as simple as that and when you have got two classy strikers up front you are always going to have a decent chance of scoring. Again, going back to my era, Arsene Wenger sometimes had three up front and we knew we would score with those guys."

When we last spoke, you expressed the hope that Declan Rice would get more forward than when he was with West Ham. Do you like what you're seeing so far? 

"I think he needs to mix it up a little more. We all want to see Rice getting more forward and maybe if he partnered with Partey, who is strong defensively as well we would see him venture forwards even more like a Roy Keane-type player, box-to-box. I certainly enjoyed his first goal though, but he could still score a few more". 

David Seaman and Arsene Wenger had a slight pop at Mikel Arteta over his plan of rotating the goalkeepers. Where do you stand on that issue? 

"To be honest, I don't think Aaron Ramsdale has done a whole lot wrong. I am not keen on rotating the keepers, I am all for a settled back five, as I call it, with the keepers and the four defenders as we had in my day. That is the foundation you build the team on, and I think you have got to listen to Arsene Wenger here, he is a top manager." 

Thomas Partey has been linked with Juventus. Can Arsenal afford to lose him? 

"Well, it wouldn't be ideal but if they don't want to sign him on a long-term contract which he wants, it might be better to let him go. He has been injured quite a bit and Arsenal might not want to put that money down. So, it might be better to let him go and get some money in for him. it's about balancing the books as well because they spent a lot of money in the summer. 

"It is the same situation as with Granit Xhaka, if you lose him, you lose him and let's get on with it, but in an ideal world, if you want to win the title, Partey would be part of that squad."