Game Changer: Why Declan Rice's Potential Move to Arsenal Could Revolutionize Mikel Arteta's Squad

Arsenal were given further confirmation of the value of signing Declan Rice in their match against West Ham at the London Stadium in April. Despite being two goals ahead and looking set for a comfortable victory, a moment of clever play from Rice altered the course of the game. This incident solidified Arsenal's desire to acquire Rice as their most expensive signing.

Rice observed Kieran Tierney preparing to deliver a pass to Thomas Partey in the depths of Arsenal's half. In response, Rice quickly sprinted towards Partey, successfully intercepting the ball and advancing it into the penalty box. He then located the advancing Lucas Paqueta, who received the ball from him. This led to a subsequent penalty, which Paqueta earned and Said Benrahma executed, ultimately altering the momentum of the game to Arsenal's disadvantage. This pivotal moment, instigated by Rice, may have even influenced the outcome of the title race.

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Rice is stationed inside the centre circle when he starts sprinting towards Partey

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Rice reaches Partey and robs him of possession as he tries to turn

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Content: Rice passes the ball to Lucas Paqueta, and as a result, Gabriel Magalhaes commits a foul, leading to a penalty. Throughout the match, Rice consistently applied pressure on Partey, indicating his intent to challenge him. "Rice is aiming to demonstrate his determination to go after Partey," commented co-commentator Jamie Carragher.

Rice's performance might even raise questions about his position in the Arsenal team.

The mentioned sequence of play displayed numerous qualities that make Rice highly desirable to Arsenal: his ability to anticipate opportunities, his speed and strength in reaching the ball, and his composure in assisting teammates and creating penalties.

Furthermore, this passage highlighted the significant growth Rice has undergone as a player. Beginning as a centre-back at West Ham, he successfully transitioned into a holding midfielder. Presently, he is a versatile player who excels in both defense and attack, thus elevating his market value to over £100m.

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Rice's heat maps show how his West Ham role evolved

As Partey may testify, his ability to win possession is unrivalled.

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Rice outperformed all other Premier League players last season in terms of ball recoveries, tallying an impressive total of 334. This placed him comfortably ahead of Manchester City's Rodri, who came in second place. Additionally, Rice led the league in interceptions with a notable 63, surpassing his closest competitor by seven.

While Rice has primarily played alongside Tomas Soucek in a double pivot formation at West Ham, his exceptional ability to win possession, alongside his physical prowess and remarkable distribution skills at both short and long distances, make him an ideal fit as the No 6 in Arteta's system.

That is the role David Moyes envisions for his long-term future - "as his career advances, he might evolve into a true No 6," he explained in April - and it could potentially be his destination at Arsenal.

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Arsenal are also interested in Moises Caicedo, another versatile midfielder

Partey, although still a crucial presence in Arteta's midfield, recently celebrated his 30th birthday and has just two years left on his contract, along with a history of inconsistent injuries. On the other hand, Rice, at the age of 24, is yet to reach his prime and has consistently demonstrated impressive durability, appearing in 93% of West Ham's Premier League matches in the past five seasons. In comparison, Partey has only participated in 71% of Arsenal's games over the last three seasons.

Arteta recognizes the need to find an alternative to Partey's fitness and made the decision to sign Jorginho on a short-term basis in January. However, Rice would bring more than just reliability and strength to the position. His ability to carry the ball is also remarkable.

Gareth Southgate, who observed Rice's development in this area last year, commented, "He has a great skill in disrupting the game and now he possesses the confidence to advance with the ball and push it forward as well." This statement from the England boss is supported by the statistics.

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Rice's exceptional ball-carrying prowess is a significant advantage. Based on data provided by Second Spectrum, where a carry is defined as "a touch event where the ball-carrier travels 10 meters or more while in possession," Rice held the second-highest position for total carries last season, with no other player surpassing his impressive distance covered.

Even more remarkable is that close to 70% of Rice's carries were classified as "pressured", indicating that they involved opposition players striving to dispossess him. However, attempting to take the ball off him is one thing; achieving success is another matter altogether. This fact became evident to Belgian side Gent during the Europa Conference League quarter-finals. Rice embarked on an extraordinary feat by carrying the ball from deep within his own half, effortlessly evading three defenders, and ultimately scoring a sensational individual goal.

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Numerous domestic examples exist. Throughout the Premier League season, he surpassed a grand total of 214 opposing defenders by making carries, ranking fourth in the league. Rice's skill in accelerating past opponents, while breaking lines with the ball at his feet, is a quality currently absent in Arsenal's defensive midfield options. This attribute would provide Arteta's team with an alternative means of inflicting damage on opposing teams.

Rice's ability to capitalize in the attacking third is even more enticing. He has scored 10 goals since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, including the one against Gent. His offensive performance has significantly improved and become a key aspect of his game.

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Content: Since transitioning from defense to midfield under Manuel Pellegrini at the beginning of the 2018/19 season, he has consistently improved his numbers in terms of chances created, final-third passes, and shots per 90 minutes. These improvements reached their peak last season, showcasing his increased threat.

Due to this transformation, it is anticipated that Arteta will have confidence in utilizing him not only as a No 6 but also in the left-sided No 8 position, which will soon be vacant as Granit Xhaka departs. Additionally, his presence could prove valuable in filling the leadership void left by Xhaka.

Moyes recognizes the identical potential in Rice - "he could excel as an attacking midfield player," he mentioned only last month - and this remains true even though the circumstances at West Ham are considerably distinct.

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Could Declan Rice be used as Arsenal's left-sided No 8?

Moyes' team had a mere 41 percent possession on average last season, ranking as the third-lowest in the division. This statistic, in contrast to Arsenal's 60 percent possession, necessitated a defensive-oriented approach. However, it is important to highlight Rice's significant contribution to the team's attacking style, as he was only surpassed by Southampton's James Ward-Prowse and Brighton's Pascal Gross in terms of distance covered. This showcases Rice's ability to function as a box-to-box midfielder.

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it is no mere chance that West Ham strategically focus a considerable portion of their offensive maneuvers towards the left flank. This strategic approach stems from the seamless collaboration and incredible synergy between Rice and a formidable ensemble consisting of Said Benrahma, Lucas Paqueta, Aaron Cresswell and Emerson Palmieri - the left-back duo, alongside stalwart left-sided centre-backs, Angelo Ogbonna and Nayef Aguerd.

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Rice was key on and off the ball on the left of West Ham's midfield

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West Ham favored attacking down their left more often than their right. Arsenal, in their pursuit to reinforce their left side just as they have done with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka's successful partnership on the right, can easily envision Rice bridging the gap between defense and attack.

Rice's impact is unquestionable, as he consistently provides defensive stability. Despite focusing on enhancing his attacking skills, the former Chelsea trainee has excelled in his defensive abilities.

Surprisingly, he recorded fewer tackles in the previous season compared to three of the past four seasons. Nonetheless, he displayed remarkable improvement in one-on-one situations, as demonstrated by the reduced frequency of opponents successfully dribbling past him.

In the previous season, the occurrence rate was only 0.55 times per 90 minutes, which is three times lower than in the 2018/19 season when he started playing as a midfielder. To provide some context, Partey and Rodri were dribbled past approximately twice as frequently per 90 minutes in the 2022/23 season.

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Rice's versatile abilities make him well-suited for various positions, which is a vital quality for Arteta. Since the beginning of his tenure, Arteta has strived to make Arsenal tactically flexible.

"Our goal is to be adaptable," he stated during a conversation with We in 2020. "If we can master two or three different formations, it will be harder for opponents to predict and counter us. While maintaining our core principles, we aim to have the ability to switch systems and approach both attacking and defending in diverse ways."

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Since then, his emphasis on versatility has increased significantly. It is now considered one of the key qualities he mentions when talking about the arrivals of their most recent major signings, such as Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard. This trend appears to be continuing with their interest in Moises Caicedo.

Arsenal's aspiration is for Rice, a player known for his quick-thinking and ability to change the course of a title race, to potentially play a vital role in pushing them towards victory in future seasons.