For many Arsenal fans, Declan Rice is the player of the season and in the main, that opinion is right.
Rice has been the lynchpin all season for the Gunners and has consistently delivered 7/10 performances and better. Alongside Martin Zubimendi, he has formed one of the best midfield pivots in the league and has helped Arsenal to the top.
However, when it mattered against Manchester City at Wembley, Rice – like many others – seemed to go missing.
In fact, it was a performance where you have to look and admit that for once, Rice was outshone by the best midfielder in the world.
🔮 Predict: Will Arsenal’s injuries stop them winning the Premier League?
Rodri and Man City gave Declan Rice plenty to think about at Wembley
Man City fans have been waiting for Rodri to come back to his best ever since he returned from injury and it looks like we might finally see it.
Rodri ran the game alongside the ever-impressive Bernardo Silva, while Rice and Zubimendi both struggled to get into the game.
However, while Rice can stand and admire Rodri and look at what he did, there was also a lesson for him in terms of being targeted by opposition teams.
Normally, we see Rice run the game from the deep and get plenty of ball and with that, make plenty of passes and runs into forward areas.
On this occasion, though, Pep Guardiola deployed his Man City forwards to drop that bit deeper and stifle Rice every time he got on the ball. It was evident to the naked eye how much pressure Rice was under when he got the ball.
And backing it up, the passing stats proved the struggle as well.
Declan Rice’s passing stats against Man City prove his struggles
As well as not being able to progress the ball and consistently having to go back to his defenders to hoof forward, Rice was way below his usual metrics.
He attempted just 46 passes – his season average is 65 – and completed only 84% of those passes, well below his season average of 89%.
Furthermore, Rice only actually had 58 touches of the ball all game. Again, this is well below his usual level, where he averages 77 in the Premier League.
For Declan Rice, this was as much about it being a learning experience as it was about getting down about not performing.
He was simply outperformed by Rodri and the rest of City on the day, thanks in part to Guardiola’s tactics.
Still, the best players in the world will learn and Rice will no doubt go and do that. Come the next big game, we fully expect Rice to change the narrative and deliver.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
