Declan Rice put in a
remarkable performance against Newcastle. We examine the data that
show why he’s Arsenal’s most complete – and possibly the Premier
League‘s best – midfielder.
It’s not always sensible to judge a player’s ability on a single
90-minute performance. We, as a data-driven website, know that
better than most. Yet Declan
Rice’s display for Arsenal
against Newcastle
on Sunday was such a perfect encapsulation of his game that it is
impossible to ignore.
Over the course of the match, Rice led all players for overall
touches (105), completed passes (75), passes into the final third
(35), line-breaking passes (17), crosses (10) and carries (29). He
also ranked joint-first for chances created (3), possession won (5)
and tackles (3), while he covered more distance than any Arsenal
teammate in the win (11.3km).
We won’t subject you to it, but we could almost fill this entire
article by just listing every category Rice topped.
Instead, we’ll let a graphic do the talking. His open-play touch
map below shows a player who was everywhere, covering nearly every
blade of grass between the two boxes.
On a day when Arsenal turned a late deficit into a seismic win at
St James’ Park – clawing back three crucial points in the title
race as
Liverpool slipped up against Crystal Palace – Rice was at the
heart of it all.
In a world where people are so often put in boxes, defined by
one narrow skill or label rather than recognised for broader
contributions, the value of the all-rounder can get overlooked.
For some time now, Rice has been a very good
all-rounder. But it feels like over the last 12 months or so, he’s
elevated his game beyond that moniker, turning into the complete
midfielder who excels in every facet of the game.
Physically, he’s extraordinary. He covers ground like few others
in the Premier League are able to.
Rice made more ball recoveries than any Arsenal player last
season (156), and is once again leading the way this term.
As we’ll get on to, he is excelling further up the pitch, but
that still does not stop him shielding Arsenal’s defence with
intelligence and physicality, constantly extinguishing danger
before it develops into anything serious.
Two moments against Newcastle captured this blend of athleticism
and awareness.
The first came from a Newcastle counter-attack after Arsenal had
committed men forward and lost the ball high. Eddie Howe’s side
broke forward and Bruno Guimarães released Jacob Murphy, who burst
clear of Arsenal’s defence.
Rice, who started even higher than Arsenal’s back four, found
himself as his team’s last line of defence and had a huge gap to
make up…
… and yet he somehow recovered to block Murphy’s shot.
Later, deep into added time and with Arsenal clinging to their
lead, a long ball dropped in behind Jurriën
Timber. Harvey Barnes, one of the quickest players in the
league and fresh, only recently having come onto the pitch, looked
certain to reach it.
Yet Rice matched him stride for stride, then used his strength
to ease Barnes off the ball. To do that after playing 98 minutes of
high-intensity football was highly impressive.
But Rice has always excelled at the defensive side of the game.
The reason he has become a genuinely world-class midfielder is the
value he’s added on the ball at Arsenal.
The Englishman is an expert in driving Arsenal up the pitch
through his ability to carry the ball forward. In a metric usually
dominated by centre-backs, who operate with more space to move
into, Rice leads the team in total carries (97), overall carry
distance (1,072m) and carries into the attacking third (12).
Against Newcastle alone, he carried the ball 260 metres, more than
any other player, adding an urgency to Arsenal’s possession
whenever he was on the ball.
Not only can he carry Arsenal upfield with the ball at his feet,
but he can progress play with his passing, too. Able to slice open
lines of opposition pressure, Rice’s technical quality is something
that has gone through the roof since joining Arsenal.
He’s already made 52 line-breaking passes this season – the
third most of any Premier League midfielder – and his 17 against
Newcastle were the most of any player on the pitch, as he was
constantly able to bypass Newcastle’s robust midfield with angled
passes into Eberechi
Eze, or out wide to Timber.
Four of those passes broke through two defensive lines,
equalling the most recorded by any player in a single game this
season.
Of course, his technical ability extends to dead balls, too. His
two direct free-kick goals against Real Madrid last season in the
Champions League were the clearest, purest examples of his threat,
but his set-piece delivery has become one of Arsenal’s biggest
weapons. Since joining in summer 2023, no player has assisted more
goals from set-pieces in the Premier League (10). Over that time,
Arsenal have scored 46 Premier League goals from set-pieces
(excluding penalties), nine more than the next most (Everton –
35).
At St James’ Park, his pinpoint cross was headed in by Mikel
Merino for Arsenal’s equaliser – and it was Rice’s own off-ball
run down the left that had forced the corner in the first
place.
Of course it was another corner, this time from Martin Ødegaard,
that led to
Gabriel Magalhães‘ injury-time winner. That was the Gunners’
second-latest away winner in the Premier League (95:45) on record
(since 2003-04). Their only later away winning goal was a strike
from Rice at Luton in December 2023 (96:23), a man who embodies the
belief that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal now possess.
There will always be debates as to who the best player in the
world is in every position. Sure, there are midfielders who can do
elements of the game better than Rice. But as far as a complete
package goes, there are very, very few who can match him.
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