With CHE’s interest in Enzo, there’s been talk on Rice & where he’ll end up. Personally, I’ve been outspoken about splashing big money on someone who’d essentially be a project, but thought I’d write some words on how he’d fit in at my club, Arsenal.
A small, rambling thread.
A small, rambling thread.
Before we get started, let’s examine his role at WHU.
Rice can be described as a one man MDF. With Soucek tasked with adding height in the FWD line, Rice is left to man buildup & transitions almost single-handedly.
Rice can be described as a one man MDF. With Soucek tasked with adding height in the FWD line, Rice is left to man buildup & transitions almost single-handedly.
This is demonstrated in his ridiculous passing/defending stats on FBREF.
He’s tactically positioned in in wider areas during buildup. This reduces the gravity of any potential errors & enable a risk-averse progression down the wings. Typical Moyseh.
He’s tactically positioned in in wider areas during buildup. This reduces the gravity of any potential errors & enable a risk-averse progression down the wings. Typical Moyseh.
Such performances led me to believe he might struggle transitioning to #6. Strict positional adherence is a key & challenging tenet of playing #6; you’re constantly required to deal with omnidirectional pressure. Recent performances at the WC, however, changed my mind.
What would he provide at Arsenal?
An immediate alternative & likely upgrade on Xhaka. He shares many of the qualities that have made Xhaka so successful in this ssn’s new role: thrust, running power, ball-striking, which have made him incredibly effective attacking the box.
An immediate alternative & likely upgrade on Xhaka. He shares many of the qualities that have made Xhaka so successful in this ssn’s new role: thrust, running power, ball-striking, which have made him incredibly effective attacking the box.
Playing at LCM would allow Rice to become acquainted w a JdP system without the explicit #6 demands. It’s a role that probably better suits his current skillset due to the aforementioned qualities, & would buy him time to overcome concerns of system incongruence.
#6 transition?
Eventually, this is of course the objective. Within the current setup, there are technical buffers in Zinchenko/White. Their presence will reduce the technical load on Rice during the buildup, facilitating the transition.
Eventually, this is of course the objective. Within the current setup, there are technical buffers in Zinchenko/White. Their presence will reduce the technical load on Rice during the buildup, facilitating the transition.
You then have a player with an objectively insane #6 skillset with time to become ingratiated into a JdP setup & tactical buffers to ameliorate current technical limitations. Spending £60m+ suddenly becomes a lot more palatable.
To conclude, whilst, I’ve always been sceptical about Rice’s capabilities to become a MDF anchor, after conceptualising a bit about the makeup of our squad & the tactical role, it could be a sensible fit at Arsenal. Let us also not forget #6s typically peak during late 20s.
Still trying to work on this threads malarkey so if you’ve made it this far, biggup yourself.
Thanks for reading 🍚🍚
Thanks for reading 🍚🍚
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