Mikel Arteta explains why he made surprise Declan Rice change with ‘huge impact’ on Arsenal

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A new development has been seen at Arsenal in recent weeks as midfielder Declan Rice has been taking set-pieces.

Rice provides a strong physical and aerial threat in the box, so it was a surprise to see him taking corners and indirect free-kicks against Crystal Palace last month. However, it proved to be seriously effective, as he created the opening goal for Gabriel Magalhaes.

He has continued his role on dead-ball situations since, and notched up two assists against his former club West Ham as he whipped in perfect deliveries for William Saliba and Gabriel to both head home.

Mikel Arteta has now explained the multiple benefits gained from Rice taking set pieces, despite the loss of his physical presence in the box.

Declan Rice has been practicing his set-pieces

Speaking via The Mirror, Arteta claimed that Rice has been training his deliveries into the box, and this makes him an excellent candidate to take set pieces.

“He’s been practising. He’s been excellent because he’s got the consistency and the quality with his deliveries which makes it another way of threatening the opponent,” Arteta stated of the 24-year-old.

“He’s a player who has a tremendous impact in our team. He can still evolve because he wants to and because he has qualities that in my opinion can be exploring and developing in a really powerful way.

“It’s a decision that the team had in relation to how we have to attack the box in certain things – and because he had a delivery. Then they started to work, especially with Nico (Jover). They built that relationship, trust and timing. They said: ‘This can work.’

“There are areas that can have a huge impact for the team and this is one of them. There are others that are going to be related to his position because at the moment we get different layers of him because of all the different positions he can occupy on the pitch.”

Declan Rice’s defensive ability helps Arsenal’s set pieces

Rice’s ability to defend against transitions also makes him ideal for Arsenal’s set plays. Should his delivery get cleared for a counter-attack, he will be ready to defend against the threat, rather than being caught higher up the pitch when attacking the box.

‌“He can make a big impact as well on the opponent’s box. But as well defensively, because he can bring something special to the team that allows a lot of transition moments,” Arteta added.

“We believed that he could be a real threat inside the box as well. But now we have other players there as well. For example, Jakub Kiwior has been playing there as well which gives us an extra height as well so Declan’s role can change as well.

‌“It’s very important to open games, to finish games, especially against the amount of teams we play with low blocks with the lack of space and the density is incredibly high.

‌“It’s an opportunity to put numbers in the box and it’s a chance to create very chaotic moments for the opponent and it’s a good chance to score.”

Rice has provided three assists from set plays in his last four games, and will hope that this new tactic can remain effective for the rest of the season as Arsenal look to maintain their title challenge.