“I see him as a beacon, he will light up others, improve others and make the team better. The way he talks, the ambition he has and the passion he has for the game is exactly what we need.” Those were the words of Mikel Arteta who signed Declan Rice in the summer of 2023.
However, this season Arteta appears to have revoked Rice’s beacon licence. I went to him and said, “You’re not a beacon anymore. You’re something else.” These were the words of Arteta after the 2-1 victory over Leeds. In this game, Rice assisted his midfield partner Bruno Guimaraes with a deft shot.
A few weeks ago I wrote about how there was a clear and obvious attempt to get Bukayo Saka into more optimal shooting positions. I conclude that Arteta and his staff, unable to secure either Rogers, Vinicius or Alvarez during the summer, had to consider scoring more goals than the Arsenal orange with the existing squad.
Christos Tzolis was Arsenal’s only attacking player, and if he simply replaces the performance of Trossard and Martinelli last season, he will be a very successful signing. I think getting Saka into more shooting situations is a simple matter of banking on the team’s best forward to do a little more.
When Arteta talks about Declan Rice no longer being a “beacon”, I think it’s an acknowledgment of two things. 1- Rays has been asked to do more in the final third this season and 2- his midfield, Bruno and Odegaard, should operate more as a carousel with all three players totaling eight.
What I mean by that is that they are all capable of playing as sixes, eights and tens at the same time in games. When Martin Zubimendi signed last summer, there was a move towards more flexibility in midfield. While Thomas Partey and Jorginho were players who had to sit at the base of the midfield due to mobility, Zubimendi and Rice offered both players the option to sit or move forward depending on the stage of the game.
I think the signing of Bruno Guimaraes has given the midfield a more agile feel and as a result Declan Rice has been more creative this season. It’s not the first time Arteta has asked Rice to be more effective in the final third.
Towards the end of the 2024-25 season, with Arsenal plagued by attacking injuries and playing Mikel Merino up front, Rice was required to get forward more often. So far this season, Rice’s data is shifting back toward creativity and away from his more boisterous qualities.
| 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
|---|---|---|
| helps | 0.15 | 0.61 |
| Successful transfers | 54.16 | 71.67 |
| The line breaks | 12.89 | 23.64 |
| Successful dribbles | 0.41 | 0.61 |
| It touches | 80.42 | 92.42 |
As can be seen from the table (all data taken from Fotmob and expressed per 90 minutes), Rice’s creative statistics are trending upwards compared to last season. He already has four assists this season. But along with the increase in his creative credentials, some of his non-ownership responsibilities are also slightly reduced.
| 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
|---|---|---|
| The distance is covered | 11.4 km | 10.9 km |
| Sprinting | 224 m | 212 m |
| Number of sprints | 10.40 | 9.85 |
| Defense contribution | 10.95 | 9.24 |
| Battles | 2.03 | 1.36 |
| Restorations | 5.23 | 3.94 |
In short, Rice is doing a little less rush and huddle and a little more passing and creating. I suspect the logic behind this is the same as the decision to ask Saka to get more shooting opportunities. Arsenal need to pose more of a threat this season without really improving their final third squad in the market.
As such, Mikel Arteta asked his two best players to adapt their game to achieve this goal. It reminds me a bit of the Simpsons episode where Marge finds a cheap Chanel dress and she proceeds to redesign it to keep some of her rich friends who can’t afford another Chanel dress.
The signing of Bruno Guimaraes also represents another change for Rays, Partey and Jorginho were very similar players, giving Rays a higher physical load. The addition of Martin Zubimendi has changed it slightly and both players have adopted a mixed and matched partnership where they will consistently alternate between deeper and more advanced positions.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s rise to prominence, resistance to the press and ability to get forward through the dribble also provide a very different and very useful range in midfield. Bruno Guimaraes is a relatively similar player to Rice, capable of playing in deeper and more advanced areas, as well as being highly adapted to the physical demands of being a central midfielder in the Premier League.
We’ve yet to see exactly how the midfield of Rice, Odegaard and Bruno will perform in practice; but we may see Rice’s role evolve again. It speaks to his quality and intelligence – his repeat partnership with Tomas Soucek at West Ham has also flourished during the season. Sometimes he would sit deeper and let Soucek get forward, and some seasons he would play in a more advanced position with Soucek behind him.
Rice has always shown a great ability to add flair and flair to the game season after season. Once again he is asked by Mikel Arteta to do something a little different and he responds in kind. His ability to learn and apply is, for my money, unmatched by any English midfielder I’ve seen in the last 25 years.