According to Paul Merson, Arsenal’s £105 million investment in Declan Rice has definitely worked wonders for the team.
After a devastating end to last season, Arsenal needed to make some improvements to redeem themselves this season. One change was a decision to spend £105 million to sign Declan Rice.
Rice’s resurgence at the Emirates has been fascinating to observe. It’s as if he’s become an entirely new player. His signing was obviously intended to strengthen Arsenal’s defensive capabilities, but he has also helped Arsenal’s overall game.
He has them well off defensively; their over-reliance on Thomas Partey is a thing of the past, and he has also been highly important in the team’s play in the final third. Mikel Arteta now has a quality corner taker in Rice, and he can also tap into the Englishman’s goals. In 27 games, the ex-Hammer has 5 goals and 5 assists, and his overall performance has made Paul Merson claim he has elevated this Arsenal side to new heights.
“They are so different to last season because Declan Rice has taken them to another level,” said Merson on Sky.
“He’s up there with Rodri and that’s why Man City and Arsenal have great defences. They are so disciplined it’s unbelievable.”
Gooners should hope Rice continues to soar. So far, his influence has been evident, and if this trend continues, the ex-Hammer could end up to have been the missing link in the Gunners’ title pursuit.
Daniel O
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Yes he has significantly strengthen the spine of the team, to the extent of the world class player hardly had a sniff yet rarely we miss a beat.
Declan has no doubt improved Arsenal,but I don’t think he’s the sole reason. There are many factors that have led to an improvement in how we have played in the second half of this season and Rice is one of them.
No doubt Declan has been massive for us this season but I also think the other players like Saka, Martineli, Maghales etc. Have grown and learnt a lot from last season.
Personally I can’t tell if Arsenal have improved from last season or not, for me the vedict is still out there. For me trophies will measure the improvement at end of the season. Otherwise I believe around the same time last season with Partey fit we were in a much better position in the league
Have we really improved that much cuz if we see the table and the points we are behind last year?
I do really believe that this season’s side is better than last season’s,the difference in points notwithstanding. The important measure for me is that we are scoring more and conceding less compared to last season. You have to consider the fact that so many teams have improved from last season e.g. Tottenham,Westham and Liverpool. Another factor to consider is that last season we didn’t have many injuries in the first half which enabled us to build momentum. The injuries came in the second half and we know what happened. In contrast,we’ve had to deal with injuries in the first half this season and now we have nearly everyone available. All these factors considered,I think this current side is better than last year’s.
You are right this season team is better but saying it is miles better than last year is a lie. Without saliba injury last year we would of won the prem easily. I really hope saliba gabriel and oodegard stays healthy bcuz this year we will need to win all the rest of the matches and I believe we will
Aston Villa too have improved. I think we are much more mature this season and I feel confident this time around than I did at the same period last season. By March last season we started to look nervy, looked leggy and like we were running on fumes. But this time around we seem to be so fresh and full of energy. We are playing like we did at the start of last season. Very energetic and fearless.
At the end of last season were playing like we played at the start of this season, very unconvincing and grinding out results.
It’s like saying Newcastle have declined. The thing is last season the start was good the end was shit. This season the start was shit and now we rolling over teams but in the end of it all it’s the points and the place we do get. I want us to win but if we finish 3d with less points than last year all these goals won’t really matter. I just wan us to finish better than last year more points and better place if not we will not have improved in my opinion.
DR is part of the reason but he is at present a cog in a well oiled machine
Whilst I love seeing the goals going in
I am loving what we do with out the ball
The high and intensity press all the team are doing to get it back
That is not down to just one player but as a team collectively
The team and manager have given me back belief and it sounds so good to me hear our name being mention in the same conversation as city and pool that we have a chance of winning the league
Long way to go but I believe!
Onwards a d upwards
Believe it or not it is the “improvement” of Havertz playing as a false number 9 and the defensive stability of Kiwior at left back.
These are the changes made by Arteta since the Dubai break and the reason why we are scoring an average of 5 goals per game and conceding an average of Apx 0.5 goals per game.
Since Liverpool’s manager, Klopp, named Havertz as Liverpools greatest threat when playing against Arsenal, where by Havertz created 5 chances to score against them, which is normally unheard of, Arteta has stuck with the goal chancer in the hope that he would become more clinical.
Havertz, having shown improvements and confidence in each game. There is a reason why he is Germany’s TargetMan although played as a fullback last time. It is because of his versitility to show his intelligence and his ability to adapt and read the game well.
Havertz s movement and positional sence is what makes him unique, his 50 50 aggression has improved and he is no longer afraid to go for 50 50 crunching balls, but most of all, he is starting to become more clinical and assistive in his play.
He always has the most chances to score out of all the Arsenal players that try each game, which just shows he is making the right runs and is a constant threat to the opposition, even in games against Man City and Liverpool he has the most chances to score.
Regarding the other Arteta change, Kiwior believe it or not is one of Arsenal’s quickest players, he is definitely the quickest defender.
He also has improved Arsenal by not only assisting in the build up to goals, but also has been better than Zinko with tightening up our back four, due to his size, strength and lightning speed, and he is still learning all the time and improving. No wonder some of the top European clubs were after him.
Of course, it is not just the improvements of Havertz and Kiwior since the Dubai break, it is also the new understanding and partnership of Jorginho and the free to attack Declan Rice, who seems to be more of a bargain at £100 million than pundits first thought with his new licence to roam forward.
Not the only reason but part of the many reasons we’ve improved, Marshalls the middle really well,versatile and he’s not even prone to injuries which guarantees his availability, unlike Thomas who is better in the DM role but not versatile enough for the advance midfield role and of course unfortunate with injuries. all in all, his physical presence in a Partey/Xhaka clone manner and versatility is what he adds to the team. His combination with Partey will be, if i’m to borrow his word “peng”!
I think his combo with Jorge is terriffic though, but alongside Partey they’d dominate the middle EFFORTLESSLY.
Two names missing from the article regarding our performances since Rice joined us.
1. MA – Has learnt from last season by not tinkering and keeping, whenever possible, the same starting eleven.
Ignored the clamour for Ramsdale to be replaced and kept faith in Havertz, despite pressure from outside.
2. The owner Mr Kronkie – investing unheard of money into the club, while agreeing to lose money on players MA decided he didn’t want.
Has backed the manager 100% and outbid city for Rice.
Now Rice himself has proved to be a superb addition to the club, along with Havertz and, if Timber had remained fit, we could have seen the three best acquisitions in the PL.
With players like Martinelli, Saka, Saliba already top notch, Rice has brought other players on with his natural ability and enthusiasm.
I suggest that he would replace Petit in the Invincible first eleven, but that’s my personal opinion
The front running performances and free flowing football exhibited by Arsenal in the major proportion of last season was superior to last season. As stated above injuries to key players impacted on Arsenal’s run in to the end of the season.
There is no doubt that since the R&R in Dubai, Arsenal has returned rejuvenated and on their A game
The inclusion of Declan Rice has proven money well spent, strengthened the spine and midfield of the team and contributed to Arsenal’s current position of third, only 2 points behind the current leaders, Liverpool FC. A major contribution by Rice has been his ability to stay fit and be available for selection.
“superior to this early season”.
Declan Rice had provided steel, dynamism and consistency in the midfield, of course. Add that together with the improvement in ability of Gabriel and maturity of Saliba. But I think Martin Odegaard’s fitness and form are the catalyst for the brilliant form right now. He orchestrates the world’s best pressing front five and he is the absolute star in it with his leadership, work rate and composure. What a captain!