Why Declan Rice is perfect for Arsenal

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Declan Rice is one of the most sought-after midfielders in the Premier League. Each summer he is rumoured to go to one of the Big Six teams. But why? What is it that Rice is so good at? And what makes him a cut above the rest? Why would he be perfect in Arsenal’s set-up?
JJ Bull explains.
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Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game.
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Music sourced from epidemicsound.com
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#Arsenal #AFC #PremierLeague

[@mitchellsmith8689]

We don’t deserve Tifo. Thank you for all the lovely content, team!❤️

[@irawangani1]

We dont deserve JJ Bull

[@princesssolace4337]

TiFO are full of kids doing BS stuff. Overated bcoz its a white Brits

[@monkeechicken]

Speak for yourself, I'm incredibly entitled :)

[@hurri90]

Tifo r gonna ruin scouting soon 😅

[@thepolticalone961]

He'd pair well if Arsenal get Steph Curry

[@patrickhanlon2325]

Rice drives into the box then kicks it out to Steph for 3. Lethal combination

[@musix3197]

Lmao this comment made me click to the video twice. About to click off so I can watch home but I saw this lmao.

[@Hugh_Amungus]

Curry & Rice, goated combo

[@thepolticalone961]

@@patrickhanlon2325 trust me bro. Lethal combo. Rice with a long pass here and WOW Curry with the another 3 pointer.

[@acantififamobile7176]

True

[@TheSesameStreetGang]

Declan Rice is a brilliant footballer, every time I see him play I'm always impressed, especially for England, he instantly makes the team better. He's underrated because he's not flashy like Grealish but he does the nitty-gritty better than any footballer I've seen play. He deserves to go for 100 mil+ and I shudder to think how good he'll be after playing a few seasons in the Champions League. This is great analysis from JJ.

[@dribblesbarbax7570]

Flashy like Grealish? He's a very bog standard winger. Receives the ball. Afraid to to commit defender. Goes backwards and passes it back to defense. Relies on his right foot, restricting how he can play. His best attribute is he knows how to get fouled. Let the opposition chase you with the ball. Cut across them and slow down ever so slightly hoping for minimal contact. Fall over like a sack of spuds

[@Wilcoranking]

​@@dribblesbarbax7570 excellent.... Once a player scores a few goals in consecutive games these fans forget everything else. Grealish should really play on the right, he slows the play down turning sideways. I don't know why fullbacks get sucked into allowing him inside.

[@visianwatson1047]

@@dribblesbarbax7570 grealish is flashy he just can’t do it with pep lol look what pep did to mahrez

[@benchwarmer2973]

he is unselfish, positioned himself correctly to balance the structure, thus enable players upfront to have freedom attacking. tactical wise, he is good.

[@znhait]

Calling him a brilliant footballer is a bit of a stretch. He's definitely very good, but I think you're being paid by West Ham to hype him up.

[@NPCSpotter]

I’m so glad you mentioned his dribbling aesthetic and it’s deceptiveness. That’s what won me over, because I didn’t think he was as good on the ball as he is; precisely because of his aesthetic

[@williambuckley5601]

Rice is simultaneously underrated and overpriced. He'll excel wherever he goes.

[@awadal-asmary4624]

Most English players is overpriced

[@lidskee461]

It’s the state of the market unfortunately. He would suit any club with the qualities he has and he’s young and physical. Hope Arsenal will go over the line to get him as he’d upgrade our midfield.

[@preetjitsingh328]

Perfect comment!

[@iJaxy10]

Is he even really overpriced. Why would West ham wanna sell their captain and best player to another club in the prem at a deflated prices. If you’re buying an english player from another prem team then obviously there’s gonna be an inflated price tag. That’s how much he’s worth to West Ham so who’s to say they’re overvaluing him

[@samfreeman1974]

​@iJaxy I think it's more so that there are players out there that can provide similar production for a fraction of the price. He may not be overpriced for West Ham, but he would be overpriced for the buying team

[@MylesB93-]

0:32 Look at Rodri 😱😱😱

[@danonck]

Yeah, it's easy to say Haland was vital for City winning the league. But this year seems like Rodri was their MVP

[@a.d.7763]

Exactly! Right?)

[@ryanyates6761]

rodri is stupidly good

[@StuttGooner]

People act like he all of a sudden showed up 😅 He's been doing that the last 6 years. Rodri at Atlético was already one of the best 6 in the world, even back in his Villareal days with 21 he was the heir to Busquets thrown.

[@Saeroye]

Scoring the champions league winner couldn’t be better. Quietly impressive and underrated. What a way to get the attention you deserve.

[@balighy1472]

This is by far the best football channel. So much more thoughtful commentary and content than everyone else.

[@huubhuijbens8816]

So if Rice comes to Arsenal, Arsenal has the option to play both with Odegaard and Smith-Rowe in the midfield. Very very exciting. I think a lot that Arsenal should try to get Mazraoui from Bayern, he didn't got a lot of play time from the club the whole season. We don't have a real rightback. Mazraoui is very energetic, he is very dangerous in offense and also very responsible as defender. He is almost the exact players as Zinchenko but for in the rightback position! If Arsenal get Rice and Mazraoui in the summer they could play 2-3-2-3! A children's dream of every person who loves attacking football!! Very awesome it could almost happen for my favorite club.

[@TheSealDribble]

Mazraoui is a great shout! And we'll have Tierney and White/Tomi to sub if Arteta wants a 3-2 shape in build up instead.

[@jdjphotographynl]

Mazraoui is relatively injury prone though, not sure if that would make him a great fit for the Premier League. Think he is better off staying at Bayern, where he has been getting sufficient playing time again in the past month, or to move to La Liga, where the play isn't as quick and physical as the Premier League.

[@ShiNooBi1986]

My dream to see ESR and Odegaard in midfield regularly

[@KA-ps1ne]

Rise a moderate player not standard for UEFA and Uerope fit, better to remain in his own ecxisting team.

[@wannenburgwannenburg3695]

@@KA-ps1ne Bird brained take

[@Smile-newaccount-tj2lh]

Rodri is underrated look at the stats WTF , WHAT A PLAYER

[@nuudelz3711]

Idk if he’s underrated or just overlooked. Happens a lot when you play on Madrid, so many great players up front you forget where the counter starts from

[@kingkai18]

He’s also exceptionally versatile, young, and possesses great mentality. You can plug him in as a 6, 8, or even a fullback which i can see with Arteta occasionally if we lose Tierney and want to rotate zinny out

[@Sreeve94]

Great vid. I didn't know too much about his style but this is fab. Really hope Arsenal sign him now. Only two things not mentioned - he's English, which puts him at a premium, but useful for the homegrown numbers. Also, he's right footed. If he was left footed that would be amazing, I think Pep & Arteta try more to put right footers on the right and left footers on the left - for everyone except wingers. In this vid you see him play the Xhaka position, but the passing options are slightly (very slightly) different for a right footer vs. a left footer on the left side of the pitch. Maybe his all round skills mean that's not the biggest issue, but I wonder if he would excel even more on the right side of the pitch?

[@patrickdaitya7084]

Odegaard is a left footer playing on the right side, so he could always swap

[@mujeebahmed7940]

Rice and caicedo is what we need

[@fromisgunner]

Some Arsenal fans want Caicedo over him if they only had to choose one 😂 I like Caicedo too but Rice on the Xhaka role would elevate the squad to the next level

[@huubhuijbens8816]

If we had Caicedo and Rice we might have won in the decisive game against City 😟😟😟😟 I'm happy how exciting attacking football we play with the whole squad, but we don't have one Caicedo or Rice kind of player in the squad. That made it that when Arsenal were against a team that play the similar way, but with more experience and more wealth, a horrible disaster.

[@alzer6467]

Ricedo

[@spacenodus7959]

If u think it would worthy over him then why not get him 🤷🏻

[@jplb96]

Caicedo is outstanding and a different player to Rice. They could play together.

[@angkhoapham8209]

Nah Rice doesnt really pose an imminent inbox threat like Xhaka, nỏ can he be smart positionally in front of the box. He's a different kind of player, a defensive that can innitiate attacks.

[@ajmalaj4381]

Considering the money required to bring him in, he could be either Arsenal's equivalent of Virgil Van Dijk signing or also could be the Paul Pogba signing

[@siberianTiger639]

Or Arsenal's Maguire 😬

[@sloht4061]

He'll be an amazing player for Arsenal. He's not got the attitude of Pogba. Pogba failed due to his stinky idea that he's amazing and the best in the world. Self entred and very egotistical. Rice is level headed, determined to learn, improve and be a better person aswell as a player. He's be transformed by Arteta and, judging by the players Arteta gets in, he'll be willing to get his head down and improve. He's never sign a Paul pogba.

[@virupakshawalla5734]

As long as he isn't Pepe signing 😂. He isn't Pogba, he's got feet on ground

[@jefferysweaty6028]

Pogba? Don't even mention his name

[@DonAl_Capone]

Paul pogba is the most technically gifted player of our generation. He didn’t flop but he didn’t reach his potential (to be the goat midfielder). Rice is nowhere near that level, he will either be vvd or mctominay for arsenal.

[@finleyclavin1572]

Great content, loved the video

[@Alorio-Gori]

So happy that we got him ❤

[@superclips842]

Next video should be about feyenord and how Arne Slot has tranformed the team

[@willstokes123]

JJ your videos are awesome!

[@muhammedgamal5871]

Great as always

[@biggerinofudge]

pleaaaaseeee bring back Tifo football show

[@manlikeJide]

I love the iss 98 reference. Not only do you know ball you also know football games.

[@RichMitch]

Dont let bovine kill the podcast

[@linusxv181]

Can you do one about Ugarte and how underrated he is?

[@Mandem909]

He was great on my football manager save. I rate him highly! lol

[@Slim2Flo]

He played exceptionally against us in europa, didnt realise he was so young!

[@stefanpetrusev2327]

I hope Chelsea can get him,he's basically the next kante,and would fit amazingly with Enzo

[@Alex-tn3tq]

​@@stefanpetrusev2327 we can only hope bro, sadly I think we'll either settle for Lavia (who is good but Ugarte is better) or overspend ridiculously on Rice or Caicedo

[@katman9900]

​@@stefanpetrusev2327 he's probably gonna sign for Liverpool since we are the frontrunners for his signature

[@iandecastro6661]

He was made for arsenal. He’s meant for this club

[@chancebullard7448]

❤

[@aztro1]

Can you do another Sensible Transfers episode on Arsenal. Apart from Mount, Arsenal haven’t been linked with an 8s. Also suggest some forwards and RB and CM options😊

[@codybauer4343]

Tyler adams

[@utsavpaudel17]

Gundo has been linked and i would love the idea of gundo on a short term deal

[@siddhant49]

I really do wish we get him

[@raydonmerby]

excellent analysis

[@chrismaryan]

I love how the KZbin generated captions note Granit Xhaka as Greenwich Jacket.

[@thehearingaid]

i know my FF team name next year.

[@ryrosimeone8837]

Welcome to The Arsenal, Dec 😍😍😍

[@fugaziishime]

Rice and frenkie are up there with the aesthetics in their way of controlling and dribbling the ball.

[@minifpl]

Excellent video. Can’t see him in the Xhaka position though, he could do it, but he’s one of, if not, the best 6 in the world.

[@Zeerse_Chef]

The best thing would be the potential commentator puns on Ben White and Declan Rice being in the same team.

[@j.s3300]

Kinda good for every team

[@williamhausjah]

Loving the FM stats 😁

[@qasimansari7540]

Superb presentation. Hope Arsenal sign him up!

[@Jonifico]

JJ's command of the camera is pretty cool to see

[@knappster1754]

I was thinking he could also do a sort of Stones role for Arsenal aswell.

[@NPCSpotter]

The scatterboard is my favorite Tifo character. It needs more screen time😢

[@abenezertheethiopian98]

DR - attackive-mid-defefender...what a player

[@Jykobe491]

He's so good he has a song about him👍

[@shiva.sharan]

Great video. Seeing a typo in Paqueta's name 😬

[@AbelEphrem-cm2cx]

Declan is vary consistent, i like him.

[@tommymercer9174]

Amazing peice tifo! On the vid you had him in xhakas position and he may play there. Will there much difference if he plays in the 6 with Haverts the other 8?

[@PinakKashyap42]

Perfect fit for us at Arsenal. Prepared for Chelsea bidding 200 Mils and take him away.

[@robo.5550]

Rice wants to be in London AND play in CL next season. Last I checked, that's not Chelsea.

[@MrYonnjyas]

Excellent 😊

[@mohammeddmalik]

His reading of the game and positioning is exceptional but don't understand his physical attributes. Strong and very leggy makes him superbly suited for intercepting and ball progression

[@Gaming-Doc]

ISS :) Man knows his stuff.

[@avenellroad]

I agree with all of it except the runs in small spaces he could make, I can't see it. He can cross or feed Martinelli but he won't dribble into the box. He does have the control for it. Also some doubts about his press resistance in his own third. I'd like him but as WH play a completely different game I think it's crazy to pay over 100m. Or let's say it I think we need more players than only him. Haha.

[@felix-bk7ne]

He is one of the most press resistant players I've ever seen at west ham. He's honestly so good at keeping the ball, either dribbling round players or making a good pass if needed. This is one of his strengths IMO.

[@phoenixfire6559]

"He's so fast he can get past Fabinho ..." I think most Liverpool fans would restructure that sentence as "Fabinho's so slow, [Insert Name] can get past ..."

[@gacielcaro5351]

I would like to see tadic from ajax, he was the orchestrator and the best player during the champions when ten hag was in ajax.

[@RiceAndRun]

I can finally watch this without the possibility of heartbreak

[@aniketjadhav2569]

And we got him ❤❤❤ Rice is a gunner❤❤❤🎉🎉

[@sewaeric]

Do a video on arsenal Vs Brighton tactical analysis ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@alexwaring5037]

Can you analyse Rice vs Brighton at the Amex.

[@cold3055]

He will come back Home 💙💙💙 chelsea fans

[@oryem4301]

literally have been watching every Tifo video for the last 2 years. Just realised i’m not even subscribed 🤦‍♂️

[@ShiNooBi1986]

Lol I just subscribed

[@MichaelNana]

PREACH, I need him at City!

[@ShadyDogg]

Will be an Arsenal legend, right there with Saka & Odegaard too

[@taongaluo9937]

I got Declan Rice in my Football Manager Arsenal Save. My team was pretty much the same with the addition of Ward Prowse. I won the league with over 95 points and reached the semi final of the champions league. I know FM is a conplex game but Rice helped alot.

[@davidn869]

We got him thank God

[@damircc]

Would love to see him at Bayern alongside Kimmich!

[@randyschwaggins]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DJMKN93]

Saka, Rice, ESR Hassss to bring some magic 🙏🏻

[@NamPhan-st5ik]

man gon be 100 mil +

[@igaarnold7840]

If we are a serious club, we need to pay it. In UCL you need world beaters and he clearly is one

[@marwanzuqy6790]

Aside ability wise, his character tick all the boxes for Arteta's culture in Arsenal.

[@darreno2428]

No the boy is absolute classy not classless like the Arsenal team.

[@marwanzuqy6790]

@@darreno2428 classless like ur fanbase

[@lasersnake]

This wasn’t much more informative than the version I created in my own head to the old silent video.

[@jojopojo9516]

Would be a great fit for Chelsea as well, though I am not so familiar with Poch's style of play. With Kovac likely going, Dec slots right in at 6 and allows Enzo to play 8. Ruben Névés / RLC would be a decent option for the other number 8, even if the latter makes it a bit unbalanced.

[@pascoe93]

I feel Poch is likely to go with his 4-2-3-1

[@ron-by5oh]

watching JJ repeatedly describe a perfect lone 6 only for him to then just shove the player through the cookie cutter of an all around 8 because *he’s able* to play there is not what I expected from a video about *best fit* but here we are. edit: literally gestures at parteys area of the pitch at the beginning of the video then just never places the guy there.

[@Mussa.H]

He will do wonders in that xhaka role. If xhaka flourished in that role last season. Then Rice will be able to do that at an even higher level.

[@Tony-dv5fs]

I’m only 6:28 in and I have already crowned this video your best yet😄

[@BigWatersBand]

Depends whether he can bottle the Europa Conference League

[@rodneytholanah7310]

had to check if those were FM stats

[@mattlow1933]

Can you do one on Mount, also show how he hides not to receive the ball, and how this helps United

[@2daysago_]

Mount is just a goalscoring player. He is not good in any position.

[@alpha8550]

Do ugarte for chelsea

[@MrMilla103]

I don't understand him at Arsenal unless Zinchenko plays as a lb holding the width or he takes Partey's or White's place. One of Xhaka's biggest things with Arsenal at least in their current form are his off ball runs in the left half space to make space for others or stretch the opposition defense, Rice never does that nor is left footed...

[@ACE360x]

Jorgi was the profile we wanted. Him and rice aren't too different. Good progressive numbers, wins the ball in midfield but need more in terms of goal contributions

[@javierlandaverde4108]

I don't get why people think Xhaka just passes in the final third. If you watch Arsenal constantly the guy moves off the Ball and creates many space for Martinelli or Odegard to get open. He's not a dribbler though and that's by his nature as a true CM.

[@thilla9317]

International Superstar Soccer, what a game been so long since I've even heard of it haha 😂

[@TwistedSoul2002]

I bought that for the snes when I was 15 lol

[@sanidanyagiri6824]

Didn't convince me he's a better fit for Arsenal than everybody else tbh, just seems a really good fit for pretty much any team with his skillset

[@danielparish5378]

yeah but xhaka for 5 years looked to play long, didn't passed short and put his hand up. we need that long range accurate midfielder passer to set martinelli and saka off into space.

[@sanidanyagiri6824]

@@danielparish5378 Chelsea need a DM, City, United, Arsenal and Liverpool all need reinforcement somewhere in defence and/or midfield. Even Bayern don't have a top holding mid, Kimmich would be better suited alongside someone like Rice. Rice would be perfect for a lot of teams, that was the point.

[@vvrath]

Anyone else's brain automatically insert the phrase "dribbly boys" at 4:59 ? JJ has ruined me

[@prasannabalaji1886]

We missed out on kante years ago and rice would avenge it

[@bytemyshinymetalass]

Tifo forgot to put a sub-text at the beginning for JJ. My suggestion for this vid: "J.J. likes his Rice"

[@Gyaux_]

Can you do Caicedo?

[@znhait]

Good player and real tidy on the ball. However, he's not a sitting midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder. Whether he can become great will depend on if he can be a more adventurous passer of the ball.

[@victorjacobs5691]

Rodri of Man City is the best at winning the ball back in the whole of Europe

[@commentarytalk1446]

You know it's serious when, "cost of living crisis" or "stealth inflation" are running riot, when a bag of Rice costs £100m !!!

[@joebradley2010]

The bull is back

[@luissantos8179]

arsenal needs new complete defensive line. one midfielder like rice and good option in the bench. give them 2 to 3 seasons

[@jmr1255]

Having rice instead of xhaka might help with our fragility on the counter more than anything else

[@RickyMasterChiefLaw]

Could also be successor to Casemiro

[@atharvakalele37]

He suits Liverpool more

[@SGb_08888]

"100 mil + nice lad " seems fair enough 🤔

[@inreX30]

Why does this feel like an Ad to buy Rice

[@trailblazerx]

aged like fine wine

[@mattparsons6813]

West Ham have 2 really good midfielders. Soucek and Rice are both really good. You can't go wrong with either.

[@ankaramesi3824]

Soucek miles off rice. soucek has bad ball control

[@howardlam6181]

Let's hope arsenal fans don't give this guy too much pressure because of the price tag.

[@Curitive]

They should’ve scooped Kamara when they had a chance.

[@KindredBrujah]

He'd suit Newcastle too, but I don't think we have the budget for him right now. He'd free up Bruno to play as an eight, which is his preferred position.

[@24mb34]

I think with the treasury of Saudi Arabia at Newcastle's disposal, they DEFINITELY have the budget for Rice

[@KindredBrujah]

@@24mb34 Financial Fair Play says that we do not. We're not all Man City or Chelsea, just flaunting the rules.

[@fogerrederer7601]

Bring him on to bavaria

[@brenolopesmenezes1840]

Hes's a volante in FM.

[@fabjon6311]

Rice is a really good player. I like him. But he is not a great passer like JJ says. He is an average passer & he is not a progressive passer. Also he is not comfortable if opponents press him with his back to goal. But he is really really good certain things. Elite ball winner, i remember him winning a ball in his own box against Rashford after sprinting more than half of the pitch. Also his atleticism is helping in his carries, not his technical ability.

[@SuperSuperscope]

Rice is xhakas successor caicedo is parteys

[@domhuckle]

Don't leave the podcast Joe Devine!