{"id":179852,"date":"2025-09-30T10:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/179852\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:36:10","slug":"declan-rices-newcastle-masterclass-proves-he-is-the-complete-midfielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/179852\/","title":{"rendered":"Declan Rice\u2019s Newcastle Masterclass Proves He is the Complete Midfielder"},"content":{"rendered":"

Declan Rice put in a
\nremarkable performance against Newcastle. We examine the data that
\nshow why he\u2019s Arsenal\u2019s most complete \u2013 and possibly the Premier
\nLeague<\/a>\u2018s best \u2013 midfielder.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always sensible to judge a player\u2019s ability on a single
\n90-minute performance. We, as a data-driven website, know that
\nbetter than most. Yet Declan
\nRice<\/a>\u2019s display for Arsenal<\/a>
\nagainst Newcastle<\/a>
\non Sunday was such a perfect encapsulation of his game that it is
\nimpossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the match, Rice led all players for overall
\ntouches (105), completed passes (75), passes into the final third
\n(35), line-breaking passes (17), crosses (10) and carries (29). He
\nalso ranked joint-first for chances created (3), possession won (5)
\nand tackles (3), while he covered more distance than any Arsenal
\nteammate in the win (11.3km).<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t subject you to it, but we could almost fill this entire
\narticle by just listing every category Rice topped.<\/p>\n

Instead, we\u2019ll let a graphic do the talking. His open-play touch
\nmap below shows a player who was everywhere, covering nearly every
\nblade of grass between the two boxes.<\/p>\n

\"Declan<\/p>\n


\nOn a day when Arsenal turned a late deficit into a seismic win at
\nSt James\u2019 Park<\/a> \u2013 clawing back three crucial points in the title
\nrace as
\nLiverpool slipped up against Crystal Palace<\/a> \u2013 Rice was at the
\nheart of it all.<\/p>\n

In a world where people are so often put in boxes, defined by
\none narrow skill or label rather than recognised for broader
\ncontributions, the value of the all-rounder can get overlooked.<\/p>\n

For some time now, Rice has been a very good
\nall-rounder. But it feels like over the last 12 months or so, he\u2019s
\nelevated his game beyond that moniker, turning into the complete
\nmidfielder who excels in every facet of the game.<\/p>\n

Physically, he\u2019s extraordinary. He covers ground like few others
\nin the Premier League are able to.<\/p>\n

Rice made more ball recoveries than any Arsenal player last
\nseason (156), and is once again leading the way this term.<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ll get on to, he is excelling further up the pitch, but
\nthat still does not stop him shielding Arsenal\u2019s defence with
\nintelligence and physicality, constantly extinguishing danger
\nbefore it develops into anything serious.<\/p>\n

\"Declan<\/p>\n

Two moments against Newcastle captured this blend of athleticism
\nand awareness.<\/p>\n

The first came from a Newcastle counter-attack after Arsenal had
\ncommitted men forward and lost the ball high. Eddie Howe\u2019s side
\nbroke forward and Bruno Guimar\u00e3es released Jacob Murphy, who burst
\nclear of Arsenal\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n

\"Rice<\/p>\n

Rice, who started even higher than Arsenal\u2019s back four, found
\nhimself as his team\u2019s last line of defence and had a huge gap to
\nmake up\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Rice<\/p>\n

\u2026 and yet he somehow recovered to block Murphy\u2019s shot.<\/p>\n

\"Rice<\/p>\n

Later, deep into added time and with Arsenal clinging to their
\nlead, a long ball dropped in behind Jurri\u00ebn
\nTimber<\/a>. Harvey Barnes, one of the quickest players in the
\nleague and fresh, only recently having come onto the pitch, looked
\ncertain to reach it.<\/p>\n

Yet Rice matched him stride for stride, then used his strength
\nto ease Barnes off the ball. To do that after playing 98 minutes of
\nhigh-intensity football was highly impressive.<\/p>\n

\"Rice<\/p>\n

But Rice has always excelled at the defensive side of the game.
\nThe reason he has become a genuinely world-class midfielder is the
\nvalue he\u2019s added on the ball at Arsenal.<\/p>\n

The Englishman is an expert in driving Arsenal up the pitch
\nthrough his ability to carry the ball forward. In a metric usually
\ndominated by centre-backs, who operate with more space to move
\ninto, Rice leads the team in total carries (97), overall carry
\ndistance (1,072m) and carries into the attacking third (12).
\nAgainst Newcastle alone, he carried the ball 260 metres, more than
\nany other player, adding an urgency to Arsenal\u2019s possession
\nwhenever he was on the ball.<\/p>\n

\"Declan<\/p>\n

Not only can he carry Arsenal upfield with the ball at his feet,
\nbut he can progress play with his passing, too. Able to slice open
\nlines of opposition pressure, Rice\u2019s technical quality is something
\nthat has gone through the roof since joining Arsenal.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s already made 52 line-breaking passes this season \u2013 the
\nthird most of any Premier League midfielder \u2013 and his 17 against
\nNewcastle were the most of any player on the pitch, as he was
\nconstantly able to bypass Newcastle\u2019s robust midfield with angled
\npasses into Eberechi
\nEze<\/a>, or out wide to Timber.<\/p>\n

Four of those passes broke through two defensive lines,
\nequalling the most recorded by any player in a single game this
\nseason.<\/p>\n

\"Declan<\/p>\n

Of course, his technical ability extends to dead balls, too. His
\ntwo direct free-kick goals against Real Madrid last season in the
\nChampions League were the clearest, purest examples of his threat,
\nbut his set-piece delivery has become one of Arsenal\u2019s biggest
\nweapons. Since joining in summer 2023, no player has assisted more
\ngoals from set-pieces in the Premier League (10). Over that time,
\nArsenal have scored 46 Premier League goals from set-pieces
\n(excluding penalties), nine more than the next most (Everton \u2013
\n35).<\/p>\n

At St James\u2019 Park, his pinpoint cross was headed in by Mikel
\nMerino<\/a> for Arsenal\u2019s equaliser \u2013 and it was Rice\u2019s own off-ball
\nrun down the left that had forced the corner in the first
\nplace.<\/p>\n

Of course it was another corner, this time from Martin \u00d8degaard,
\nthat led to
\nGabriel Magalh\u00e3es<\/a>\u2018 injury-time winner. That was the Gunners\u2019
\nsecond-latest away winner in the Premier League (95:45) on record
\n(since 2003-04). Their only later away winning goal was a strike
\nfrom Rice at Luton in December 2023 (96:23), a man who embodies the
\nbelief that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal now possess.<\/p>\n

There will always be debates as to who the best player in the
\nworld is in every position. Sure, there are midfielders who can do
\nelements of the game better than Rice. But as far as a complete
\npackage goes, there are very, very few who can match him.<\/p>\n


\n\"Premier<\/a><\/p>\n

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