Perfect sense: Why Arsenal and Man City both win the Declan Rice deal | OneFootball

The news on Wednesday that Manchester City have withdrawn from the race to sign Declan Rice means Arsenal now appear to have a clear run at the West Ham midfielder.

But while Rice would be a perfect signing for the Gunners, his potential move to City didn’t make quite as much sense.

Lewis Ambrose and Dan Burke explain why Wednesday’s news was good for both clubs.

Lewis Ambrose – What Rice will bring to Arsenal

Arsenal are on the verge of signing one of the Premier League’s best midfielders. That can only be a good thing.

After going close last season, figuring out what was missing in the title race was crucial for Mikel Arteta and Edu as the summer transfer window opened and they have clearly decided Rice is a player who can make the difference.

What does he add? We can kick off with availability. Thomas Partey has only started 69 of the 110 Premier League games Arsenal have played since his arrival from Atlético de Madrid. He never started 30 in a season in LaLiga. He has never started 30 in a Premier League season. Rice has started 175 of West Ham’s 190 Premier League games since the start of the 2018/19 season.

You can only impact games regularly if you’re on the pitch to impact them.

So if Rice is consistently available, it comes down to what he offers the team. And we come back to last season, and what was lacking from a side that was so good for so long?

Think of Arsenal, with Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Ødegaard as their midfield, and there is a lack of physicality and intensity that the best teams often have in that department. Partey is relatively laidback, Xhaka is intense and robust but lacking in pace, while Ødegaard has plenty of intensity with and without the ball but doesn’t have the size of the other two.

Rice combines all of the above and adds some pace that goes beautifully with his reading of the game. Against the ball, he can sweep up opposition counter-attacks and muscle his way into possession. With the ball, his stride and drive help him burst into space and launch attacks.

Whether as the deepest midfielder in Partey’s place, or further forward in Xhaka’s, Arsenal look to set to sign a 24-year-old who is a natural leader and combines both physical and technical gifts.

All of that makes Rice a player you can build your midfield, and your team around.

Dan Burke – Why Man City don’t need Rice

Rice is undoubtedly a fabulous player and would have been a great addition to City’s squad, but there are a few reasons why it wouldn’t have been a perfect fit.

For starters, City have already signed their replacement for İlkay Gündoğan with the capture of Mateo Kovačić from Chelsea this week and unless somebody else leaves, there isn’t currently room in the squad for another midfielder.

Of course, Bernardo Silva might also leave the club this summer, but Rice would have been far from a like-for-like replacement for the Portuguese playmaker. If Bernardo does leave, it would make more sense for City to bring in another winger, giving Phil Foden more opportunities to play centrally and opening up a pathway to the first-team for highly-rated youngster James McAtee.

Rice’s best position is as a number six, which is where he will be a near-guaranteed starter for Arsenal. But City already have one of the world’s best defensive midfielders in Rodri and as Kalvin Phillips discovered this season, dislodging the Spaniard on a regular basis is unrealistic, barring a serious injury.

Phillips should be delighted that Rice isn’t coming to City and despite an underwhelming debut season at the club, the Yorkshireman deserves another chance to prove himself to Pep Guardiola next term. It could also be argued that Rice’s bombastic approach isn’t currently compatible with City’s more methodical style, and his adaptation might not have been fast and smooth.

But the biggest reason City have pulled out of this deal is because the numbers simply didn’t add up, and the club has form for walking away when they feel a player’s valuation is too exorbitant. Just ask Alexis Sánchez, Jorginho, Harry Maguire, Kalidou Koulibaly, Harry Kane and Marc Cucurella.

City have spent and will spend lots of money, but £100m+ on what would essentially be a squad player just didn’t make sense, and they’d be foolish not to explore cheaper options.