Declan Rice has been outstanding since his arrival at Arsenal for a club-record fee this summer, and has arguably been one of the best midfielders in Europe.
The England International has helped Arsenal to the top of the Premier League, whilst also easily navigating their way to the Champions League knockout stages.
Rice has impressed both at the base of midfield as well as in a more advanced role, and he has also helped Arsenal build the best defensive unit in the Premier League.
Arsenal are now dominating most games, and after some initial teething problems this season, the attack is now starting to properly click, and Rice has also made a significant impact here.
Declan Rice’s world-class awareness
One key aspect of Rice’s play has been his ability to win the ball back high up the pitch, which helps Arsenal maintain their dominance over opposition teams.
Squawka have now highlighted that Rice has made seven interceptions in the final third of the pitch. No player in Europe’s top seven leagues has made more.
Rice is perhaps the best midfielder around at intercepting the ball, given his strong positional awareness, as well as his supreme physicality. Not only is he tall and strong, but he is also mobile enough to quickly close down any loose balls.
Is Declan Rice the key to glory for Arsenal?
Arsenal have not won a Premier League title since 2004, when Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva ran the midfield for the Invincibles.
Since then, Arsene Wenger moved away from Arsenal’s physically dominant midfields to technically brilliant ones, as Cesc Fabregas replaced Vieira and the likes of Mikel Arteta played at the base of midfield.
Rice is now a call-back to the days of Vieira, given his physical stature in the middle of the park, and Dennis Bergkamp recently highlighted the importance of a strong defence.
Should another midfielder join, with the Vieira-compared Amadou Onana linked, then Arsenal will have a midfield roster of strong, sizeable ball-winners like they did with the Invincibles, and Rice will be at the heart of this.
If Arsenal do go on to win the Premier League this season, then it will be in no small part down to the influence of Rice on both the defence and attack since he joined from West Ham.
He is already one of the best in his position, and he still has the potential to become even better for Arsenal for years to come.
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