Mikel Arteta explains Declan Rice's position change at Arsenal
Declan Rice has been given a different role at Arsenal this season.
When Mikel Arteta initially signed the England international, the plan was to use him in the base of the midfield, behind Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
When that didn’t work, Rice was deployed in a left-sided number eight role, where he was absolutely brilliant and contributed at both ends of the pitch.
This season, there has been a change again, and Arteta has explained why.
Mikel Arteta explains why Declan Rice’s position has changed at Arsenal
Since the start of this season, Declan Rice has been playing as a number six in a double pivot.
In the Premier League games, Myles Lewis-Skelly has been his partner in the middle of the park, while Mikel Merino was given that role in the Champions League clash against Napoli.
The Spaniard played higher up the pitch than Lewis-Skelly usually would, which meant that Rice had additional responsibilities in the deeper midfield role.
Even the stats show just how much of a number six he has become. Across Arsenal’s first five games, Rice has had one touch in the opposition box.
The reason? Arteta has revealed it is down to his partners in midfield as well as how teams are now approaching games against the Gunners.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “He continues to cover the miles, but in a different role.
“It’s just to, I think, create the right synergies in and around the team and to put his qualities to the service of the team, especially in the way the opponents are behaving against us, which I think is really important.
“And Declan can do it. You put him in a different role, he will do it.
“But at the moment I think he feels really comfortable doing what he’s doing. He’s played with different partners in midfield, and we’ll continue to adapt his game in relation to the needs of the team.”
Declan Rice’s new role makes Arsenal so hard to beat
It is no surprise that Arsenal have become so much stronger in defence with Rice playing a deeper role.
Yes, the Gunners have had the best defence in the league for a few years now, but they have clearly gone up a level since the start of the season.
Arsenal have let in just one goal in five games and haven’t conceded a shot worth more than 0.15(xG) this season. [The xG Philosophy]
Rice protecting the backline is definitely one of the reasons behind such solidity.
One can only wonder how much more difficult they will become to beat once William Saliba and Jurrien Timber return to the team.