3 ways Arsenal can deploy Declan Rice next season

2. He can execute the box-to-box role

Despite being an obvious Partey replacement, Rice could be equally transformative as the successor to Granit Xhaka.

The presence of Partey (for now), Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny means Arsenal are arguably overstaffed in holding midfield and instead need to bolster their options at no. 8, an issue Rice himself can certainly fix.

Our soon-to-be record purchase ranks among the best progressive midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues and would no doubt benefit from Mikel Arteta’s positional structure. He invariably drives forward upon recovering the ball and makes late runs into the box to provide an outlet, whilst also dribbling and combining with teammates to fashion goalscoring opportunities.

Additionally, the 3-2-5 formation we favour in possession allows Rice to venture forward without compromising our collective solidity, and he has the engine to recover quickly if the ball is lost high up the pitch.

Havertz’s arrival indicates Rice may not be deployed here, but he can do the job if required and at least allows for rotation.

Continued on the next slide…