“£100m – Rice is not that good” I have seen quite a few Arsenal fans say.
Hand on heart, I think some fans do not realise how good Declan Rice is.
Maybe it is because he plays for West Ham United, maybe it is because he is English, maybe it is because they just want to moan about us spending money having spent years moaning we have not spent money. Answers on a postcode.
Let’s get things right, Declan Rice is a world class player. Someone who would get into every starting XI in England, Europe and the World. Even Manchester City.
He would also probably start for nearly every national team. Rice is that good.
Versatility
Recently in the pub, I compared Declan Rice to Ruud Gullit.
For those who are too young to remember the Dutchman was a very special footballer. He was strong, quick, had fabulous technique and brilliant reading of the game. He was probably the perfect “total football” player.
It did not matter if Gullit played at centre back, in defensive midfield, attacking midfielder or even further forward, he would be the best player on the pitch. And Declan Rice is a modern day version.
When we were initially targeting Rice, the expectation was that he would replace Thomas Partey in the 6 position.
Rice is one of the few players in world football who has the vision, defensive awareness, stamina and technique who can play the in “sole 6” that Arteta deploys.
He is up there with Rodri, Partey and Casemiro in playing this position. And there are not too many on the continent who are on the same level as the Premier League 4.
But then the Granit Xhaka news broke, and discussion began about Rice playing further forward.
Often for West Ham, Rice has not played as the deepest midfielder. This gives him the security to drive forward with the ball and creating attacking opportunities.
Playing higher up the pitch also lets Rice use his defensive abilities in the final 3rd, adpoting the high press and winning the ball back quickly.
When West Ham won the penalty against Arsenal this season, it was Rice’s pressure on the edge of our box that led to it.
And Rice is also a threat in and around the penalty area.
I have lost count how often West Ham have needed a goal, and Rice has picked up the ball on the edge of the area and driven at players into the box to create a chance. And that is something Arsenal have missed.
Xhaka and Martin Odegaard are not really players to look to take on an opponent. They will use their more subtle skills to create a chance with a pass. Rice is more of a Yaya Toure creator.
Rice powers past players in the box who become too afraid to make a challenge. That puts the defence on the box foot and running back towards their own goal. He could be the battering ram we need to break down a low block defence.
He might not be a goal scoring threat, but I do think he does have the technique to score a lot more. Remember, Toure was not a goal scoring threat until he joined Manchester City and was free to play even further forward.
For a long time, there has also been a feeling that Rice’s best position may be at centre back.
In a better team, you need central defenders that are very comfortable on the ball, dictating play and starting attacks. A top teams centrebacks do not need to be brilliant defenders.
Think of Rio Ferdinand at Manchester United, David Luiz at Chelsea and more recently John Stones at Manchester City. These are ball playing central defenders who became key to the way their teams built from the back. And if they played for a lesser team, they all probably wlould have played regularly in midfield.
Rice has the same attributes as all of these.
Tall, strong, can tackle, great defensive awareness and fantastic distribution. You can certainly see him playing regularly at centreback at some point in his career.
So Arsenal would be getting 3 players in one.
We would be buying a Xhaka replacement in the 8, someone who can play deeper in the 6, and a fella who could be world class at centreback.
I would imagine if we needed a goal, you could probably also sling Rice upfront to be a target man!
Age
Declan Rice only turned 24 in January. He is a month younger than Martin Odegaard…
He has been playing regularly for West Ham since he was 18, which I think makes some think he is older than what he is.
His age profile fits perfectly into what Arteta is building. And he has 10 years (at least) at the top of this game.
Some might be considered he has “played too much too young” but Rice is not built of fragile stuff. He is a solid lad.
Unlike Jude Bellingham who at 19 is already playing with heavy knee strapping, or Jack Wilshere who had persistent ankle issues from a young age, Rice has never had any injury concerns.
He does not overexert himself, he never looks like he is putting emense strain on his body. He cruises through games (this does not mean he is taking it easy, it just means that he is built for a long career as a top athlete).
Like Gullit, as he perhaps loses some of his pace, he will begin to play deeper and deeper. Using that vision and defensive awareness to dictate games from defensive midfield or centreback.
Experience
As mentioned above, he became a regular at 18 for West Ham. He has now played 245 times for them. Over 200 Premier League apperances. Almost all starts.
He also 41 caps for England.
Rice is one of those special bred of players that when he broke through, you just knew he was going to have a long career at the top. And he will come to us as a 24-year-old with bucket loads of experience.
The Europa Conference League win only adds to what he brings to us. He will be hungry for more.
Leadership
If it was not for Mark Noble, Rice probably would have become West Ham’s regular captain a lot earlier.
He first captained West Ham at 20 years old, but did not become their 1st choice captain until last summer after Noble had retired. He captained them to their first trophy in over 40 years.
Rice is the sort of player that leads from the front on the pitch. He never gives up and drives others to be better.
Whilst I do not expect him to replace Odegaard as captain this season, I would not be surprised if he gets the armband at some point. And he would certainly be an option in the future to become club captain.
Rice will also be the next England captain…
Attitude
Unlike another former Irishman turned Englishman, Rice is well behaved off the pitch.
You do not hear of him falling out of nightclubs, passing out in Ibiza or going on 2-3 day benders just because the season is over.
He comes from a well grounded family in South-West London and is in a long-term relationship with his childhood sweetheart. He became a father for the first time last summer.
Rice has recently moved to a new family home on the London / Herts / Essex borders. He is a settled man who just wants to concentrate on his football.
Off the field he reminds me a lot of Harry Kane. Just plays his football, plays his golf, and gets on with things. That is the perfect attitude to join our young squad of players.
We do not need big personalities who will grab hold of the mic and make themselves the centre of attention. We need players who will set a good example. Rice is one of those.
Rice for £100m? Might seem a lot but that is where football is right now.
We are getting a world class player who is brilliant in mutiple positions, has a 10-year career ahead of him and has the experience and leadership to take us to the next level.
The same people moanign that he is not worth £100m would also moan if we refused to pay more than £80m and he went Man City…
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 