Two years ago, it was virtually impossible to foresee that Declan Rice’s likely next destination would be Arsenal. The Gunners had just come off back-to-back eighth place finishes, the latter of which placed the club four points below West Ham. Rice meanwhile had chalked up 131 Premier League appearances at that point, establishing himself as one of the division’s best young players, ahead of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, in which he excelled and started every game. Champions League qualifying Manchester United and Chelsea were swirling. In June 2021, it looked certain that he would bolster the midfield of either of those sides, with the London club heavy favourites. It was just a matter of time. Yet as this summer’s transfer window opens, Rice’s next club is expected to be Arsenal. The fact that we are frontrunners to sign one of the Premier League’s most sought after players is a testament to the club’s progress in the past couple of seasons.
Let’s not forget, Arsenal were not even in European competition following Rice’s rising prominence and emergence on the international scene at Euro 2020. Failing to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years was one of many low points in a steady decade of decline in the 2010’s. A strong end to the 2020/21 season did at least provide some room for optimism. Short-term, it was five wins from five to finish the campaign. Longer-term, 1.96 points per game post-Christmas was only bettered by champions Manchester City. Those results in the first of 2021 marked hidden progress as performances picked up following Emile Smith Rowe’s emergence and the loan signing of Martin Odegaard. Coinciding with Gabriel Martinelli’s return from injury and Bukayo Saka’s return to form, both provided much needed energy and creativity to a previously tepid attack.
Aside from the three early defeats in 2021/22 and the associated downbeat feeling around the club, Arsenal have been making gradual tangible progress since the winter of 2020 as Mikel Arteta’s team continued to evolve. Summer 2021 saw Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White and Odegaard (loan turned permanent) all join and quickly become first-team regulars. The returning Saliba accompanied new arrivals Zinchenko and Jesus last summer to add further quality to an already impressive young team. And of course, we all know how the season just gone unfolded. Arsenal went from a good team to a great team in 2022/23, at a time that Chelsea went drastically the other way in what has been a reversal in fortunes of the two clubs in the last two years. Who expected that when Thomas Tuchel’s side carved us apart at The Emirates 22 months ago? Meanwhile, Manchester United filled their midfield void with experienced campaigners Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, taking Rice’s focus away from the Red Devils and obviously Chelsea. A void has opened up – suddenly there is an opportunity to sign one of Europe’s best young midfielders. It’s just as well Arteta’s promise that his Arsenal project would ‘go bang‘ came to fruition. Out of nowhere, Arsenal have been able to exploit this opportunity, becoming favourites to sign Rice. It is a mark of the club’s progress since Arteta arrived, but most notably in the last two years.
If we pull this transfer off, it will surely be the biggest statement of the Arteta era. Early on, mixed success in the market saw Thomas Partey and Gabriel recruited in 2020, but Arsenal were still hampered by existing issues in the squad (Sokratis, Mustafi, Ozil et al). Adding the likes of Cedric and Willian, neither of which were up to scratch created further problems for a team still nurturing the young group of academy graduates. In the summer of 2021, aforementioned important signings were made, but nobody really took notice. Moreover, we were ridiculed for signing White after his debut at Brentford, for buying Ramsdale before he kicked a ball and Tomiyasu as an unknown quantity to most onlookers. Zinchenko and Jesus last summer were of course statement signings, but their impact on and off the pitch was still underestimated. A transformative winning mentality effect swept the club as Jesus vowed the club could win the league on his first day and Ramsdale described how the club’s mentality completely changed during the same pre-season.
And that brings us to the present transfer window. Arsenal are an attractive proposition for top players again and have the financial muscle to recruit those prospects, which of course became a well-documented issue during the middle section of Arsene Wenger’s reign. Rice can enter a first XI that boasts nine players aged 26 or under. The only exceptions being Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka, hence the need for rejuvenation in central midfield, particularly with Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny in their early 30’s too. For the first time in what feels like forever, a top player is potentially taking the step up to join us when he has a number of possible suitors among Europe’s elite clubs. It would be a statement signing indicative of progress on the pitch and a consequential flourishing relationship between players and fans that any player would surely want to be part of. Let’s just hope we get this deal done in the coming weeks so that we can look forward to Declan Rice patrolling our midfield for the next five years or so.
Image Credit: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
AFC Writer 