Arteta should watch Declan Rice’s performance for England to learn his best position in midfield

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·09 de setembro de 2024

Arteta should watch Declan Rice’s performance for England to learn his best position in midfield

When Declan Rice last played for Arsenal, some curious claims were made about why he wasn’t performing at his best. As influential as he was last season, the Englishman hasn’t been as effective in his last three Arsenal appearances.

Some have suggested that his effectiveness as an LCM has diminished whereas the player himself has admitted he has not been fully fit. In fact, some believe that when he returns to the Arsenal lineup after serving his red card ban, Mikel Arteta should just get him back to playing as a 6.

Vídeos OneFootball

As stubborn as Arteta is, with Mikel Merino still out, he may still be hoping for the Englishman to play as an 8 going forward and influence the team’s performance like he did in the Premier League run-in. If the Englishman does not play as a 6, Arteta should consider taking inspiration from how England’s interim manager, Lee Carsley, utilised him.

The Three Lions manager deployed the Arsenal player as a right-sided midfielder in a midfield trio, and he performed admirably. Rice performed exceptionally well against Ireland, not only scoring and assisting but also making 106 touches and completing 88 passes. When compared to his performance against Aston Villa, where he played as a left-sided midfielder, the ex-Hammer demonstrated his potential. He performed better on the right side against Ireland compared to Villa, where he managed just 44 touches and completed 28 passes.

Rice clearly could have a greater influence as a right-sided midfielder (as he was against Ireland), and Mikel Arteta should try it if he wants to keep either Thomas Partey or Jorginho in the 6.

Martin Odegaard is capable of playing as a left-sided midfielder (LCM). In fact, some Gooners have urged the Norwegian star to shift to the LCM position in order to elevate the LHS, but the Arsenal technical bench has yet to implement this change.

If I were Arteta, I’d try playing Rice at RCM, because if it works, that could be the path to go until Mikel Merino is back fit and forces his way into the Arsenal midfield equation.

Darren N

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