Arsenal have already signed the new Rice

Paul Scholes might be of the bizarre opinion that he “takes too many touches”, but is there truly any reason to suggest why Arsenal‘s Declan Rice isn’t one of the top five midfielders in the world right now?

There really isn’t anything that the Englishman can’t do, be it from whipping in a delicious corner, or rifling home a free-kick from range, having also been an ever-present fixture this season, prior to missing the trip to Bruges through illness.

He’s always up and at ’em, tearing from box-to-box in almost a Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane style of yesteryear. The true all-round midfielder.

It does boggle the mind that this was once a player shackled to a centre-back role in his youth at West Ham, before emerging as something of a safe and steady defensive-minded midfielder under David Moyes – scoring just 15 times in 245 games for the Hammers.

In the red and white of Arsenal, however, the 26-year-old has been a man unleashed, with Mikel Arteta‘s handling of the all-action star proving to be something of a masterstroke.

Declan Rice’s record as a No.6 vs a No.8

For all the attention surrounding West Ham’s Conference League captain, having emerged as a leading target for both Manchester clubs prior to 2023, there were still eyebrows raised at the £105m figure that the Gunners forked out to get their man just over two years ago.

Indeed, as already stated, the Three Lions star had only provided 28 goals and assists in total at the London Stadium, with the aforementioned Keane one of the more vocal sceptics at the time:

A solid, albeit unspectacular, debut season followed in north London, with 31 of Rice’s 51 games in all competitions coming in a number six role, as per Transfermarkt, with Arteta experimenting with Kai Havertz in the first half of the season in that left-sided number eight role.

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Those 31 games yielded just three goals and four assists, although with the likes of Jorginho and Thomas Partey deployed more frequently heading into 2024, Rice’s 19 games as more of a box-to-box central midfielder saw him register ten goals and assists.

Indeed, that shift became something of a permanent one in 2024/25, with the one-time Chelsea youth man registering 16 goals and assists from his 37 games as a central midfielder, while providing just three goal involvements from 15 games in his deep-lying berth.

Of course, shifting into a more attacking role has aided that increase in final third contributions, although plaudits should fall to Arteta for spotting his attacking potential from the off.

Perhaps, a similar scenario could lie in store for Rice’s midfield colleague, Martin Zubimendi…

Arsenal’s new Declan Rice

Part of the Gunners’ success again this term has been the continued deployment of Rice as a number eight, with the arrival of an orthodox midfield metronome, in the form of Zubimendi, bringing real balance to Arteta’s midfield unit.

Signed for a fee of around £60m from Real Sociedad, following prior interest from Liverpool, the Spaniard has taken to Premier League life like a duck to water, starting every league game to date this season.

As Rice has said himself, his new teammate is “so easy to play with“, with the pair seemingly hitting it off right from the start, rather than needing any period of adaptation.

Sitting in that role in front of the back four, Zubimendi is a master at pulling the strings, both for club and country, currently ranking in the top 11% of Premier League midfielders for pass completion, as well as in the top 9% for attempted passes per 90, as per FBref.

Also ranked in the top 16% for aerial duels won, the 26-year-old mops up so effectively in the centre of the park, rubberstamping the opinion that he is something of a ‘Rodri clone‘, in the view of Spanish football expert, Graham Hunter.

Like 2023 Champions League final goalscorer, Rodri – and like Rice too – might there be more to Zubimendi’s game than just prioritising his defensive work? Could Arteta also get a tune out of him in an attacking sense, too?

Indeed, Zubimendi’s midweek performance away in Bruges showed flashes of what he can do in the final third, having provided two assists in Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 victory.

Of course, with Rice already the all-action figure in the midfield, it’s not as Zubimendi would suddenly join him in bombing forward at every opportunity, albeit with Wednesday highlighting that Arteta should allow his compatriot to let the handbrake off on occasion.

While his first assist for Noni Madueke was nothing to shout about, the new man’s second was far more eye-catching, bursting down the left wing before producing a delightful back-post cross on his weaker foot.

In all, in the absence of Rice, the £60m man registered six key passes in total on the night, while creating three big chances, as per Sofascore, indicating that he can emulate the Englishman, if and when he is needed.

Already, he looks like the greatest success story of the Gunners’ summer recruitment, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring just four league goals, while Eberechi Eze was notably hooked at the break against Aston Villa, following arguably his poorest display to date.

That viewpoint is reinforced by his rising market value too, with Zubimendi now deemed to be €75m (£66m), according to Transfermarkt, while Gyokeres and Eze are deemed to be valued at €70m (£61m) and €65m (£57m), respectively.

Unlike that attack-minded pairing, the Euro 2024 winner has hit the ground running at the Emirates. As Wednesday indicated, however, there’s plenty more to his game still be discovered.

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