You would think that after the success Arsenal have had in the transfer market the likes of Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar would have gained significant faith in their future targets; yet scepticism and questioning remain. football.london understands the Gunners see Declan Rice as their primary midfield acquisition for the summer and many amongst the supporter base aren’t convinced by the England international.
Rice has been appreciated for some time as one of the best central midfielders outside the top six clubs, so much so that his manager David Moyes has used treble figures in the millions to describe his value. Having cemented his position as Gareth Southgate’s first-choice defensive midfielder, his years in east London have somewhat desensitised many to the qualities he possesses.
This has got to the stage where in debates amongst supporters about whether Arsenal should sign Rice terms such as 'overrated' or 'lacking in technical ability' quickly emerge. Links to Brighton’s Moises Caicedo in the January window and recent suggestions of interest in Southampton’s Romeo Lavia have given further fuel to the discussion.
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Therefore, it is essential to assess these claims and see how Rice continues to stack up against some of the league’s best in his position. Arsenal will be more than aware of all the data and extensive scouting on all their targets but for the benefit of the debate, football.london takes a look the available metrics.
When it comes to the assessment of a player's 'technical ability' this is quite a broad use of terminology that covers plenty of areas. The most widely agreed upon definition would be how a player uses the ball be it with close control, dribbling, take-ons, quickness of thought and especially passing to define their technical ability.
Looking first in possession, according to FBRef, for the percentage of successful take-ons per 90 Rice (51.4%) beats both Caicedo (48.4%) and Lavia (43.3%). This extends when talking about the progressive distance per 90 Rice (136.7y) carries the ball compared to Caicedo (78.9y) and Lavia (71.9y).
In terms of miscontrols, Rice (0.65) again comes out on top per 90 against Caicedo (1.16) and Lavia (0.92). Moving into passing, Rice is a player who loves to progress the play and keep the ball moving positively and that reflects in the comparison with Caicedo and Lavia in progressive passes per 90 (6.69 > 6.38 and 4.14) and passes into the final third (6.65 > 5.00 and 4.41).
Rice’s completion of passes between 15 and 30 yards at 95.3% also bests Caicedo (90.2%) and Lavia (91.9%) Caicedo though does win out with short passes below 15 yards to Rice (92% > 90.1%) but Lavia trails slightly with 89.5%.
These numbers aren’t to suggest that Caicedo and Lavia are poor technically, quite the opposite. Both players have excellent technical ability and therefore this data provides clarity to any suggestions that Rice is somehow not technically good enough and compares very well in key areas to his two midfield contemporaries.
Defensively, Rice also impresses. In terms of dispossessing dribbles, Rice stands out again with 66.7% of the percentage of dribblers faced tackled compared to Caicedo (61.4%) and Lavia (47.8%). Defending the box is key in high-pressure moments and Rice has 1.54 clearances per 90 compared to Caicedo’s 0.91 and Lavia's 0.72.
Aerially Rice is also more successful giving the Gunners greater presence in the boxes which of course this season has been an issue defending set pieces. Rice’s aerial duel win percentage of 70.5% beats Caicedo and Lavia who both have 62.5%.
Caicedo intercepts the ball more frequently than Rice per 90 (1.68 > 1.54) but only just, compared to Lavia's 1.25. Rice remains more disciplined regarding cards having got just four yellows this season compared to Caicedo’s eight and Lavia's six.
Any of these three players would be a good move for Arsenal and certainly add quality to the team that once in possession of Mikel Arteta can be improved to exciting levels. However, the myths surrounding Rice and suggestions of him being overrated or technically restricted can certainly be put to bed. This is simply not the case.
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