All Hail Declan Rice: Arsenal's midfield genius 

Arsenal writer Nick Manfredi hails Declan Rice in this special feature on Declan Rice's many talents 

Declan Rice. What a marvellous player. But of course, you already know that.

It is rare to find a midfielder who excels in so many areas. A jack of all trades would do Rice a disservice because he’s not just able to do a job in a variety of different roles, he shines in every one of those roles.

Rice as a 'Six'

We’ve seen Rice perform as a ‘6’ particularly in his first season.

His ability to break up opposition attacks, then progress with the ball from deep was no doubt a very desirable attribute when Mikel and his scouting department identified him as our number one target going into the summer of 2023. And his attacking proficiencies have always been evident. He scored seven goals in 2023-24, which was a career best at the time.

Rice as a goalscorer

Rice himself spoke of his desire to add more goals to his game, and he has certainly done that. the quality of many of his goals is perhaps an underrated quality of his.

The long-range screamers away at Chelsea and West Ham, his well taken finish at Old Trafford earlier this season, the beauty against Newcastle only last weekend and of course his breathtaking brace of free kicks against Real Madrid, two goals which will live long in the memory of not only Arsenal supporters, but everyone who watched that wonderful game.

Rice best as a 'six' or an '8'?

Rice has shown his capabilities to arrive late in the box, his finishing, tackling, his ability to pick line breaking passes, this is evidently not your textbook central midfielder.

Perhaps the question is not what is Rice best at, but what is he not good at?

When you consider all the attributes any midfielder in an elite side would require, Rice doesn’t merely tick all the boxes, he slams them right out the park. Maybe that’s one of the reasons we struggle to fully define him in terms of what kind of midfielder he is. Because quite simply, he’s excellent at everything.

Is he a 6 or is he an 8? Who cares when he is brilliant in both roles?

The future

It is looking almost certain that Martin Zubimendi will join Rice in Arsenal’s midfield next season. The general consensus is that the Spaniard will take up the role of the anchor at the base of our midfield, allowing Rice to strut his stuff further up the pitch. Arsenal’s formations and tactics have evolved year on year under Arteta’s tenure and whoever we sign this summer; I think we will see a continuation of this next year.

I’m very excited to see what Arteta has in store for Declan Rice. When you have a player at your disposal who can do so many different things, you can almost mould him into whatever you want.

The continuing emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly is another point to consider. Will Arteta move him into midfield next season, and if so, how does that change Rice’s role?

He will obviously still start but MLS has a similar skillset to Rice in many ways. He is exceptional at carrying the ball from deep, he is remarkably press resistant for such a young age and is a great passer.  

Prediction

My prediction is we will see Zubimendi as the anchor with Rice continuing in the 8 with MLS continuing at “left back.” On paper at least.

The reality is you can’t really trust formation graphics these days because all the top sides are very fluid.

This is especially true for Arsenal. I would support any signings that allow for Rice to be pushed further forwards as that’s where he can do the most damage to the opposition. I think if you have midfielders like MLS and hopefully Zubimendi who are very capable defensively then there is no real need to restrict Rice’s attacking licences.

He reminds me of Aaron Ramsey in some ways in the sense he is effective in both boxes, has a great engine, and is a superb all-rounder. That’s rare in a midfielder.

Compare Rice to other top centre mids, like Moises Caicedo, who is a great player but doesn’t come close to Rice in terms of his attacking talents. You can find plenty of midfielders who can compete with Rice either going forwards or defensively but I’m not sure I can think of anyone who is excellent at both.

Leadership

Another key quality Rice possesses is his leadership. Whilst not being the official captain it is evident he is one of the more vocal members of the squad.

As for the national team, he will undoubtedly be the number one candidate for the England captaincy once Harry Kane retires from international duty in the not-too-distant future.

Rice also acts as a mentor for the younger players and has a good relationship with players like MLS and Nwaneri. He is clearly a popular and likable guy in the dressing room and in life generally. Arteta has spoken about making sure all new signings are not just good players but also good people.

Essentially, Rice just comes across as a lovely chap. When we were trying to sign him, so were Man City. But Rice always made it clear that he was only interested in Arsenal. He may well have been offered more money at City but probably knew for them he’d be another player but with us he’d be integral. A wise decision.

I speak for every Gooner when I say I hope Dec stays with us for many years. The only thing missing is the trophies. But they will come.

And Rice will be a fundamental part of that.

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Previous articles by exciting new Arsenal writer Nick Manfredi:

Arsenal's new red and white home kit: Lighten my wallet now

Feel the positivity under Arteta after Rice's superb stunner steers Arsenal to the Champions League