Even when Arsenal led 2-0 and the match was about to end, Declan Rice did not stop running. It is no exaggeration to say that this is Arsenal’s most successful contract in many years and one of the most impressive contracts in the Premier League 2023/24.
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Until now, Rice is proving that the £105 million that Arsenal spent is worth every penny. In the match against Bournemouth in round 36 of the Premier League that ended not long ago, the English midfielder continued to have an extremely great performance.
With only 90 seconds left in the match and Arsenal leading 2-0, Rice still ran straight from his own half into the opponent’s penalty area and received a through ball from Gabriel Jesus, before launching a powerful shot, setting the score. 3-0 score for the home team.
After this situation, thousands of fans at Emirates Stadium sang: “Declan Rice, we bought him for less than half the price.” The final whistle sounded and fans continued to give endless applause to the former West Ham midfielder.
According to statistics from Squawka, Rice is the best player on the field with 65 touches of the ball, 43/48 completed passes, 7 touches of the ball in the opponent’s penalty area, 7 times of winning the ball back, 3 opportunities to create Out, 3 times won in disputes, 3 shots, 2 times passed the opponent, 2 times stole the ball, 1 goal and 1 assist, always holding the title of best player in the match.
The above performance encapsulates Rice’s incredible integration and change throughout this season. He came to Arsenal from West Ham as number 6 and excelled in the central midfield position. However, coach Mikel Arteta pushed Rice to play higher in the No. 8 position during the middle of the season, this was the right move as the 25-year-old player made an impact in both attack and defense.
Rice currently has 7 goals and 9 assists this season, achieving a 90% passing accuracy rate, no other player has so many goals/assists and passing accuracy in a single season in the Premier League. Premier League over the past 10 years. Notably, the Arsenal star is only behind Kevin De Bruyne in terms of assists in the Premier League by 2024 and is ahead of Rodri in terms of parameters and goal contribution – a great opportunity to create make – intercept – block – successfully tackle – successfully clear the ball.
Speaking after the Bournemouth match, coach Mikel Arteta praised Rice’s contributions, saying: “He occupies a lot of space on the field, that’s the difference. Sometimes it’s not really easy to adapt to different positions but he did it. So the praise is completely deserved.”
Very few rookies make a huge contribution to a new team in their first season, especially for a fee of £105 million, but Rice did it. He overcame all pressure, raised Arsenal’s midfield and deserved to be the leader of the team in the future.
