HEAT TURNED ON FOR RICE
Arsenal will expect huge return on £105m outlay
DECLAN RICE will join Arsenal with big pressure on his shoulders.
The England midfielder is the missing link expected to help the Gunners back to the days of being serial winners.
That is the reason they are splashing out £105million on the West Ham captain, who will bring leadership to match his playing qualities.
It would have been easy for Rice, 24, to opt to join Manchester City when they showed an interest, but he has an admirable desire to help build long-term success at Arsenal.
That is the vision which manager Mikel Arteta sold to Rice when he convinced him to join the club – and why City’s interest was far too late and Bayern Munich never got past first base.
Arsenal were outplayed at City in April, and perhaps the most obvious gap between the sides was their respective presence on the pitch.
The Gunners enjoyed a brilliant campaign but needed more leadership and strength.
City underlined the divide with that 4-1 rout at the Etihad.
Rice will give Arsenal physicality, identity and strength. He will be happy to take responsibility and try to control the game.
European
Cup winner and world-class midfielder in his day, Graeme Souness, has been one of Rice’s fiercest critics.
Souness said to be a top midfielder you have to be able to defend, offer creativity and score goals.
Rice called that criticism “harsh” in March.
Fittingly, he scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win in Naples – England’s first victory in Italy since 1961 – that same evening. As answers go, it was pretty emphatic.
Anyone who has seen Rice lately will have noted a player who is way more than just a No.6 shielding the rearguard.
He is confident on the ball and a marauding box-to-box midfielder, rather than just a defensive one.
That is what Arsenal are buying and, even though £105m smashes their transfer record, it will be worth every penny if he helps them break City’s domination.
After choosing Arsenal over City, Rice is clearly someone who believes in the Arteta project and vision. That sends a clear message to other players and will not have gone unnoticed by the north London club’s Premier League rivals.
Another key part of the attraction is that Rice can play in different positions.
He started life as a centrehalf, can be a deep-lying defensive midfielder and also operate further forward. Arteta loves that sort of versatility in a player.
He views it as essential because it shows someone highly talented and adaptable.
Rice is also a leader, both in terms of personality and as a player. He helps set the tone and is the ideal replacement for Granit Xhaka.
Arteta saw Xhaka as a huge character and was sorry to lose him, so whoever replaced him not only had to be a better midfielder but also a big personality – Rice ticks both those boxes.