Arsenal have been slow to hit their stride this season but Declan Rice has made an instant impact following his record £105m arrival from West Ham; watch Arsenal vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm on Sunday; kick-off 2pm
Sunday 24 September 2023 13:58, UK
"I'm already seeing football in a completely different way," Declan Rice told Sky Sports. It was late July and the 24-year-old was reflecting on his first few weeks under Mikel Arteta.
The change had been "crazy", he added. Arsenal's way of working was "completely different" to what he was used to at West Ham and so was the level of detail employed by the manager. Rice predicted, entirely reasonably, that he would "need some time to adapt".
Two months on, however, there has been little evidence of it. Arsenal have not been at their fluent best during the early stages of the campaign. But on an individual level, Rice has looked right at home, his impact immediate in the heart of their midfield.
His Arsenal career has already produced its first landmark moment - that match-winning, near-post finish against Manchester United in the sixth minute of stoppage time at a delirious Emirates Stadium - but above all it has been a story of consistency.
Rice has shrugged off the pressure that came with his £105m price-tag and instead focused on what matters. "There's always going to be talk around me," he said to Sky Sports after the win over Manchester United. "I just try to put in performances."
The tone was set from the start. Arteta commended his "very natural" display on his debut against Nottingham Forest. A week later he was "dominating the midfield" in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. "The best player on the pitch," said Jamie Carragher.
And so it has continued. Since the United game, there have been similarly commanding displays against Everton and PSV Eindhoven. "It's not easy when you come here and play straight away," said Gabriel Jesus of his new team-mate. "He is doing an amazing job."
It is all the more impressive given the upheaval around him.
Rice has already been used as both a No 8 and a No 6. Initially, he had Thomas Partey as an inverted full-back to his right. More recently, it has been Oleksandr Zinchenko to his left. He has had to adapt accordingly, all while adjusting to a totally new style of play.
His presence has provided increased defensive security in Arsenal's midfield, with Arteta highlighting his ability to "break up play" and "glue the team together" when it gets stretched.
But his attacking impact has been similarly striking.
Although operating mostly as a deep-lying midfielder, Rice is frequently the one who drives the side forward.
He did so repeatedly in that thrilling win over Manchester United, and often by combining his defensive and offensive strengths; first winning possession, then sending Arsenal onto the attack.
Consider this example early in the game, when he could be seen tackling Bruno Fernandes in the Arsenal half.
Having emerged with the ball at his feet, he immediately drives into space on the left flank, drawing a defender towards him and creating space for Eddie Nketiah to release Gabriel Martinelli.
That passage of play ended in a chance for Kai Havertz and there was a similarly eye-catching moment in the second period.
Rice, having showed impressive alertness to intercept Antony's pass just inside the Manchester United half, takes the ball around the Brazilian winger and then sends a through-ball towards Havertz and Martinelli to his left, where Arsenal have an overload.
Arsenal were ultimately unable to capitalise, with Nketiah miscontrolling Martinelli's cut-back, but it again showed the threat Rice provides in those situations. So far this season, only three Premier League players have made more carries.
Rice's ball-carrying was of course a major asset to West Ham too. But with Bukayo Saka, Martinelli and the rest now making the runs ahead of him, it already looks an even bigger one to Arsenal.
There is data to prove it, too. At West Ham, Rice had an average of roughly two realistic passing options at the point of releasing the ball following his carries. At Arsenal, that number is closer to three.
The possibilities are tantalising and Arteta is determined to unlock Rice's true attacking potential. Indeed, even when he has played as the lone No 6 this season, he has been encouraged to make attacking runs into space off the ball as well as on it.
The best example came in the win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and almost yielded an Arsenal goal.
Seeing a pocket of space open up in the right-hand channel near the Palace box, Rice darts beyond the unsuspecting Eberechi Eze and collects Martin Odegaard's pass before threading the ball through to Nketiah, whose one-on-one effort strikes the post.
"He has got the timing to arrive in the box," said Arteta. "His role is to start in that deeper position and drive forward from it," said Carragher. "I think that is where he is at his best," added the Sky Sports pundit.
Rice certainly has the engine for it. According to Premier League tracking data, only three players - Dejan Kulusevski, Fernandes and Philip Billing - have covered more ground than him so far this season.
It is a statistic which reflects the extent of the demands placed on him by Arteta but Rice's strengths are of course technical as well as physical. His passing has been outstanding, and another means of propelling Arsenal upfield.
Only six players have completed more final-third passes than Rice in the Premier League this season and only two at Arsenal in Odegaard and Saka. The midfielder has managed that while maintaining an impressive accuracy rate of 92 per cent.
A deeper look at the numbers is even more revealing. According to Opta, Rice is third among Arsenal players, behind only that same duo of Odegaard and Saka, for shot-ending pass sequence involvements. His contribution to those attacks might not not always be the most eye-catching, but it is significant nonetheless.
The challenge now is to produce more of the same against a resurgent Tottenham side in his first north London derby. His decisive role in the win over United offers encouragement.
"In those big games, you need a player who grabs the game and understands when to add speed, when to break it down and when to control it," said Arteta earlier this month.
In other words, you need a player like Declan Rice.
Watch Arsenal vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm on Sunday; kick-off 2pm
