Should Arsenal make Declan Rice our No6 or No8 next season? - Just Arsenal News (2024)

1. Completely depends on who is available in the transfer market. Rice at 6 and Musiala/Wirtz at 10 sounds better than rice at 8 and onana at 6.

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   1. We are NOT getting Musiala or Wirtz so just stop kidding yourself!

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2. Depends, and why lock yourself into one position? Arteta favors versatility, so regardless of any midfielder I think Rice will still see time as a 6 and an 8, depending on game situation and management.

   Arteta could also play a 4-2-3-1 at times and have Rice and New midfielder in a pivot.

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3. Arsenal finished the season very strongly, and key figure in that was Rice playing in the more advanced #8 role

   at the time of his signing both Arteta and Rice himself said that coming to Arsenal was about developing his game and growing as footballer, particularly calling out scoring more goals – his move to #8 very much delivers on that vision and I expect that to continue next season, and in many ways dropping back to #6 feels like a step backwards in Rice’s progression

   Arteta/Edu love versatility, and in Rice they have a #6 who became an #8, I wonder whether we might similar recruitment strategy this summer

   if Edu can find a midfielder who can play #10 to a high level too that would be ideal, one area we lack quality in depth Odegaard #10, if our midfield recruitment can find a versatile #10 that would be superb

   a player like Bruno Guimeares (the Newcastle midfielder) intrigues me as to what his best position actually is, could be that player, is he strong enough at #6, does it matter when most opponents are likely to deploy low block / counter-attack against, i.e. not look to play through us in the middle

   I can actually see two midfielders coming in to provide cover and options across the midfield, Zudimendi and Guimeares probably my preferred if I could choose

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   See Also

   Declan Rice transfer latest as West Ham set £120m price tag on Arsenal target

   1. There is no way we are getting Zubimendi AND Bruno G. We probably won’t get either. However, if Bruno came in he would have to play the ‘8’ simply because he is more technically gifted than Rice, whereas if Zubimendi joined then I expect Rice would retain the ‘8’ role. If we bring in Amadou Onana then I don’t know what happens because he is a similar type player as Rice.

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4. Rice is definitely very productive on bothe positions. When he plays with Partey in that position, we hardly lose a game. he is very aggressive.

   Therefore if there is a player of partey’s profile who can handle the 6 position, Rice should definitely play 8. That’s why we need Zubimendi I cannot speak for Onana; but we definitely need 2 defensive mifielders to catch up with City. Jorginho isn’t growing younger.

   Graduates from the academy should make the step up.

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5. He’s hybrid, so it’s all down to team selection and game plan for the day. A very vital cog, who will flourish alongside Zubimendi long term, given Thomas’ imminent departure.

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6. Rice doesn’t fit the 6 position for Arsenal. He is not that penetrating with his forward passes, which is a key trait. Partey has it, Jorgi has it. Rice is a great 8.

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   1. Do we want the ‘6’ to be a deep-sitting playmaker or an actual defensive midfielder who protects the defence? If it is the latter then we must play Rice there. If it’s about playing forward balls or just linking play, then we may as well just play Zinchenko there.

      We spent £100M+ on the best purely defensive midfielder in the league, so why try to make a player out of him. He’s not Andrea Pirlo but neither is he David Batty. I don’t think he is quite good enough to get forward and score the goals we should expect from an ‘8’.

      Declan Rice is a similar style of player to Patrick Vieira, so we need a similar type of player to Emmanuel Petit to compliment him. Maybe for that reason we should be looking at Adrien Rabiot. At 6’4″ he is an absolute house and could well get the best out of DR.

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      1. I think we need a balance at 6, we have DR, who is a monster at moving up and down the pitch, so even at 8, he is able to make crucial interceptions. And we have Odegaard who is primarily a playmaker but with immense work rate. Now, we need a profile at 6 who is defensively decent, but also has the eye for killer passes, vision and has superb football IQ. We can’t have a player there who lacks vision in passing and tempo management. And not bad defensively as zinchenko.

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         1. Agree with your thoughts on the 6 role, but it’s also the ability to receive the ball in front of the defence and turn tricky situations into dangerous attacks – requires excellent close control. Partey is great at this, whereas rice is decent but not elite.

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7. I’m surprised that MA / Edu, supposedly, haven’t made their minds up about where they want DR to play – just paper talk in my opinion.

   I prefer him as a No. 8, especially when reading the players we’ve been linked with so far.

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   1. your gut instinct is right Ken – Arteta, Edu and Rice are pretty settled on #8

      and right again – just paper talk

      our best spell of form of the season was with Rice playing #8, he has more influence on the game at #8

      Rice might still drop back to #6 on occasion tactically, hopefully not for injury cover as we are thin at #6 currently

      thin on injury cover at #10 for Odegaard too

      that is why I think we need to pick up 2 high quality versatile midfielders, maybe one in summer and one in the winter window

      Guimeares strikes me as one of those with that versatility and also may be that x-factor watch winning goal from nothing

      Zudimendi and Douglas Luiz are primarily defensively minded, so one of those two

      let’s see…

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      1. Douglas Luiz is primarily defensive? He scored more goals than Rice last season in fewer games. There is no one better than Declan Rice at the defensive arts of the game, so why are we so intent on trying to make a player out of him? He’s good on the ball, he is fantastic at defending.

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8. Declan Rice is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League. Rodri is a better player, but Rice is superior purely at the defensive aspect of the game. With that in mind it is far easier to find talented attacking players or 2-way midfielders to compliment him than it is to find someone even as good at defending as him.

   Also, while Rice is very good at carrying the ball, when compared to players like Rodri or Bruno G. he comes up pretty short, so how about we just play to his strengths and keep him in the ‘6’ role if that is what we are all calling it now and find someone to compliment him. I’m not sure that’s Amadou Onana even though I do like him. I just don’t think he’s good enough on the ball yet.

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9. Buy a player like Rice, whi can play 6 or 8. Have some flexibility. Simples.

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10. I would go for Arsenal buying an 8, a player in the mold of Vitinha of PSG and Portugal. When we play “bus parkers” Rice would play 6 while Odegaard and the new guy would work to pry open the opposition’s stubborn defence.
    When the opposition is a quality attacking team, Rice would play 8 while Jorginho would play 6.
    And talking about Vitinha, I wish Arsenal bought him instead of his Porto teammate Vieira😭

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11. Anyone else heard the clip of Amadou Onana speaking perfect English in a South London MLE accent? He will absolutely fit perfectly with Declan Rice.

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12. My take is to sign Onana from Everton and allow Rice more leeway to push forward. I am not comfortable with Partey. He can be a mess. Ben White is now also ready to cover a defensive midfield role so it would be extremely advantageous if Arsenal were able to sign a speedy wing back to help support Odegaard and Saka on that side of the field. Other than that whoever Arsenal sign is in the hands of those who know better.

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13. Agreed with the author. Rice will flourish as a b2b if they can find a deep lying playmaker to support him with great discipline and defensive aspects which are not much available period. Martin Zubimendi for me is clearly the choice for that role. Highly intelligent player with great leadership qualities and have a great mindset. Have to switch to double pivot if they’re deciding to get either Fofana or Onana.

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