Arsenal legend says one star is making ‘a massive difference’ after Arteta tweak

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Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves has been seriously impressed by Declan Rice so far this season.

Arsenal paid a club-record £105 million to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United in the recent summer transfer window.

Rice has quickly proven himself to be an inspired acquisition. He has rapidly established himself as an integral figure in the middle of the park.

The 24-year-old was once again a dominant force against Brentford on Saturday evening. He played as the deepest member of the midfield trio against the Bees, and made a number of crucial defensive interventions, including a goal-line block which prevented the Gunners from going behind in the first half.

In recent weeks, Mikel Arteta has generally deployed Rice in the left-eight role, with Jorginho at the base of the midfield. However, the Spanish coach shook things up slightly for this trip to the Gtech Community Stadium, with Jorginho dropping to the bench and Rice falling back into a deeper role.

Tactical change works for Declan Rice

Perry Groves believes that this tactical tweak made all the difference. Speaking on talkSPORT’s Premier League All Access podcast, the Arsenal legend said, “Declan Rice has made a massive difference. A massive difference with his physicality. That’s why Arteta played him as the pivot yesterday at the base of the midfield.”

From this position, Rice was able to survey the game ahead of him and use his pace and running power to snuff out potential Brentford counter-attacks.

Rice has been encouraged to develop his attacking game by Arteta. The manager is clearly keen for the England star to make an impact at both ends of the pitch. He has already made progress in this regard, and has two goals to his name already this season. Both crucial strikes, coming against Manchester United and Chelsea.

Rice has spoken out publicly about how he has taken on more attacking responsibilities with Arsenal than he had when he was on the books at West Ham.

There is still a strong argument that Rice is at his best in a more defensively-minded role, though. He certainly showed against Brentford that he is an elite level performer in that position. 

Given Kai Havertz also came onto the pitch to take up the left-eight role in the midfield, and made a match-winning contribution, it will be fascinating to see how Arteta chooses to use Rice in the coming weeks. Havertz will be hoping for a run in the starting XI now, which surely means Rice will keep his place as the deepest-lying midfielder.