When Arsenal Wenger’s Invincibles clinched the English Premier League (EPL) title in 2003-04 – the second time in three seasons – few Arsenal fans would have imagined that they would be waiting more than two decades for the biggest honour in the domestic game. But after three consecutive second-place finishes under Mikel Arteta, the signs are that the drought will end this May. With more than half the season gone, Arsenal hold a handy six-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The individual at the heart of that was a £100 million signing three years ago. Like Paul Ince – who changed Manchester United’s history – Declan Rice cut his teeth at West Ham. The final years of the Wenger era and the early phase under Arteta had seen a team capable of playing attractive football, but one that could easily be bullied off the park. In a nutshell, they were soft.
There’s a reason the words ‘midfield’ and ‘general’ are so often used together in football writing. It’s hard to think of any great team without summoning up the image of a dominant character in the middle of the park, who could dictate the tempo of a game and also coax more from his or her teammates. For Arsenal, Rice is now that man.
The likes of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo may have had more fan boys and girls, but the main reasons why Sir Alex Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles were two signings four years apart. Ince came from West Ham in 1989, and Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest in 1993. Ince quickly became the leader of the pack once Bryan Robson started to fade, and once he fell out with Ferguson over who was the ‘Guvnor’, it was Keane that drove his teammates forward for over a decade. They may not have had the goals, assists, xGs and other inanities spoken about now, but there would have been no titles without them.
Chelsea had gone nearly half a century without adding to their lone league title when Claudio Ranieri signed Claude Makelele from Real Madrid. In the five years that the diminutive Frenchman patrolled the base of the midfield, Chelsea won two titles and lost just 19 matches. Others came for bigger fees and with greater reputations, but it was Makelele that made the team tick.
It was no coincidence either that Liverpool went from pretenders to champions once Jurgen Klopp signed Fabinho. Till the Brazilian lost his energy and intensity in the 2022-23 season, Klopp’s worst at Anfield, Liverpool’s pressing and harrying drove other teams to distraction as they won the league, Champions League and multiple cups.
For the last two seasons, Arsenal have had the best defensive record in the league. As much as the centre-back pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba deserve credit for that, their job is made considerably easier by the screen Rice provides in midfield. Like peak-Ince and Keane, Rice is a ball-winner and a passer. He’s also now added goals to his repertoire. After scoring just 15 in 245 matches for West Ham, he now has 20 in 130 games for Arsenal.
The wonder goals against Real Madrid last season will always be remembered, but it’s the ones that he scored against Bournemouth this weekend that could be even more valuable. Once, this was exactly the sort of game Arsenal would have drawn – there were 14 stalemates last season – or even lost, especially once Bournemouth scored first. But Rice’s strikes and his defensive work late in the game helped preserve a slender lead and stretch their advantage at the top of the table.
Next up are Liverpool, the outgoing champions, at The Emirates on January 8. Once, this was a game Arsenal fans dreaded, with Liverpool often intimidating them in the middle of the pitch. The tables have turned now, and all eyes will be on Rice and his midfield accomplice – Martin Zubimendi turned down Liverpool in the summer of 2024 – as they seek to hammer the final nail into Liverpool’s title defence.
For years, Patrick Vieira was the gold standard for Arsenal midfielders. If Rice can inspire a title-winning campaign, he will one day be spoken of in the same breath.
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