The race for Declan Rice is set to be the talk of the summer transfer window, with Arsenal reportedly leading the way for his signature.
Rice has established himself as one of the Premier League's best midfielders over the last few seasons, so it's no surprise that the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with the Englishman for some time. football.london understands that Rice is the Gunners' priority target this summer, though Mikel Arteta'a side would have to smash their transfer record to acquire the 24-year-old's services.
And with Granit Xhaka set to leave Arsenal this summer, a new midfielder will be needed at the Emirates next season. Rice has played a pivotal role in leading West Ham to the Europa Conference League final this season, with the England international set to cost around £85m-£95m.
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So, could Rice be the missing piece to help Arsenal win the Premier League? We simulated next season with the midfielder in the squad to try and find out.
Arsenal's 2023/24 season simulated with Declan Rice
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2023 to arrange for Declan Rice to join Arsenal on July 1, 2023, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the 2023/24 season to see how the England international could perform.
A factor of Rice's game that would prove vital in north London was the 24-year-old's availability, and he proved that in his first season with the Gunners, making more appearances than any other player in the Arsenal squad. In his first season under Arteta's guidance, Rice made 50 appearances across all competitions, grabbing 10 assists and averaging a rating of 7.19 in that time.
Only Bukayo Saka (7.21) and William Saliba (7.29) registered a higher rating than the midfielder, though Rice managed more assists than everyone else in the squad, setting up Saka with seven of his 10 assists. His best competition was the Premier League, averaging a 7.3 rating per game whilst making 37 appearances.
Rice made a further nine appearances in the Champions League, two in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup. Compared to the rest of Arsenal's midfielders, he outperformed everyone bar January signing Dani Olmo, with Thomas Partey also having an impressive season.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Arsenal best XI: (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus.
Rice was included in the Arsenal XI alongside Partey in midfield, with Arteta opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation in the new season. Odegaard started ahead of the duo whilst Gabriel Jesus started in the lone striker role, with Florian Balogun missing out, despite scoring 12 league goals in his first season with the first team.
Arsenal's results with Rice from the 2023/24 season
Once again, Arsenal were involved in a Premier League title challenge, with the race going down to the last few days of the season. The Gunners were constantly switching between first and second place with Liverpool, but it was the Reds who emerged victorious, beating Arsenal to the title.
Liverpool won the league with a few games to spare, and after losing two of their last three, Jurgen Klopp's side ended the season four points ahead of Arsenal in second. Arteta's side managed 87 points over the course of the season, three more than they could end the current season on.
27 wins, six draws and five losses saw Arsenal end in second place, with two of their five defeats against Liverpool. Despite their challenge for the Premier League title, the Gunners failed to cause problems in any of the cups, ending the season trophyless.
After a 0-0 draw in the first leg, Arsenal's Champions League journey ended in the Round of 16 following a 2-0 loss away to Bayern Munich. Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal as Chelsea beat the Gunners 1-0 in the FA CUp quarter-final, and a 2-1 loss to Liverpool saw Arteta's side eliminated from the Carabao Cup in the third round.
Overall, the Football Manager simulation predicts that Rice could establish himself as one of Arsenal's most important players in the 2023/24 season, averaging the third-best rating in the squad and playing a vital role in the Gunners' title challenge. Rice's addition improved the Arsenal midfield, though for the Gunners to win the league, they may need more investment in other areas as well.
Do you think Rice would be a good signing for Arsenal? Let us know in the comments below!
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