Declan Rice has been improving every season at Arsenal.
The England international joined the Gunners from West Ham United in a club-record £105 million deal in 2023, and he has since been one of their best players.
The one criticism of Rice at the time was that he didn’t score enough goals, but the midfielder silenced his doubters in each of his first two seasons at the club.
Now, the Arsenal first-team star is keen to go to the next level.
Does Declan Rice deserve to be Arsenal’s highest earner…if not, then who?
Declan Rice says he wants to score 10-15 goals every season at Arsenal
The maximum number of goals Declan Rice managed to score in a single season at West Ham was five. That came in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns.
The Englishman broke his personal best record in his debut season at Arsenal by scoring seven goals in all competitions. He beat it again in his second year, scoring nine.
Rice wants to become even better in that department and is eyeing big numbers going forward. However, he is failing badly this term.
Speaking in an interview with The Sun, Simon Collings asked the Arsenal star what ‘Declan Rice 2.0’ looks like, enquiring what’s next for him.
Rice replied: “Yeah, I need 10 to 15 goals a season minimum in all competitions. Last year and the year before, I did really well.
“My numbers with Arsenal have been good since I joined. I think they have gone up a level, but I think I’ve got the ability to do better in front of goal. I can make more runs, I can be set more with the ball, I can take more shots. It’s just more risks I can take in front of goal.
“So I think that’s the next level for me now, because I have the ability to do it. I wouldn’t be talking about it if I couldn’t do it. I definitely can. It’s about me wanting to do it, and I do, but I think that’s the next level.”
So far in the 2025/26 campaign, Rice has only scored four goals in all competitions. It is extremely unlikely that he will hit his target before the end of the season.
Fill the blanks: The year is 2030 and Declan Rice is now worth £____.
Arsenal midfielders have rarely scored 15 goals in a single season
It is never easy for midfielders to chip in with 15 goals in a season.
Martin Odegaard was the last one to do it – he scored 15 in the 2022/23 season. However, the Norwegian is an attacking midfielder by trade, unlike Rice.
The last box-to-box midfielder to cross the 15-goal mark was Aaron Ramsey in the 2013/14 season. The Welshman was unbelievable that campaign and helped Arsenal win the FA Cup.
The fact that only two midfielders have managed 15 or more goals in a season in the last 16 years at the club shows just how difficult a feat it is.
Rice is unlikely to do it this term, but don’t bet against him in the coming seasons.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
