How good is Declan Rice?

Declan Rice is labelled by many as the second-best defensive midfielder in the world, behind Rodri of Manchester City. But what makes Rice so good?

It is a year to the day that Declan Rice signed for Arsenal from West Ham United for £105 million. At the time many sneered at Arteta and Edu for ‘overpaying’ on Rice. A year on, and many now say that Arsenal scammed the Hammers and that the Gunners should have paid more for the England International.

Throughout this article, I will compare Rice with the signing of Mesut Özil, a big-money move Arsenal made in 2013 for what was at the time a club-record transfer of $42.5 million. Both are/ were midfield players but their functions in the team couldn’t be more different.

At West Ham Rice was used as a defensive midfielder. Under Arteta, he has transitioned to have a more box-to-box role. His defensive numbers have increased, despite his transition to a more attacking role. His passing numbers have also increased, as have his creative numbers.

Back to Özil. The German playmaker had a large pricetag and largely lived up to it. His skills, passing and ability on the ball were top quality. In this regard, Özil is ten times the player of Rice. However, Rice’s work rate and his effect on the team is something he has achieved within a year that Özil arguably never could. In this regard, Rice is 50 times the player of Özil.

Declan Rice is one of the best players to step through the doors of the Emirates Stadium, and I believe that he is the man that will take the Gunners to the Premier League title next season.