After months of speculation, it appears that Declan Rice will join Arsenal this summer for a club-record fee of £100 million, making him the most expensive player in the club’s history. The West Ham captain has been the subject of interest from several top clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, but it is the Gunners who have won the race for the 24-year-old England international, who is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. But how will he fit into Mikel Arteta’s system and can he help Arsenal to overcome Manchester City in the title race?
Rice should have no problem slotting into Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formation, as he typically played in a two-man midfield alongside Tomas Soucek with Lucas Paqueta ahead of them at West Ham. The question now is who he will replace in the side: Thomas Partey or Granit Xhaka? This may not be answered until the transfer window shuts, as Xhaka is tipped to leave and Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and City’s Ilkay Gundogan are closely linked to the Emirates. For now, we’ll assume that Rice will replace Xhaka, as he is more than well-suited to play as a No.8 due to his excellent ability to progress the ball forward, set up chances and willingness to run into the box and score for himself.
Alternatively, Rice could take Partey’s role as the more defensively minded midfielder, content to sit deep and screen the centre-backs. This is the position he is most used to and the one he plays for England, with his reading of the game and expertise at stopping opposition attacks before quickly countering being essential to his club and country’s success over the past few years. Partey has struggled with fitness issues since joining Arsenal and Jorginho is not renowned for his physical prowess, so Rice is a clear upgrade in this position having very rarely missed a game for West Ham over the last three or four seasons. His leadership on and off the pitch will also be invaluable to this young and fledgling Arsenal side.
If Mikel Arteta wants to replicate Pep Guardiola’s tactics at Manchester City, Rice could be key player in a 3-2-4-1 formation. Rodri and John Stones have thrived in this system recently and Rice could operate in one of the deeper midfield roles. It remains to be seen how the rest of the Gunners would fit this shape, with questions over whether defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko or Ben White would join Rice in midfield, whether Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah could play together and if Gabriel Martinelli fits in. With Arsenal returning to the Champions League for the first time in six years, there is a lot on the line and Arteta may not want to risk too much experimentation. However, spending £100 million on one player is a huge risk in itself.