Mobbed by teammates, serenaded by supporters and lauded by his manager: the first chapter of Declan Rice's Arsenal story could scarcely have ended better. A remarkably composed touch with his chin and a swing of his right boot propelled the $130 million man into a place in north London folklore. Whatever their club record signing does next there will always be that moment when he downed a great foe and sent north London into rapture, putting Arsenal ahead against Manchester United in stoppage time, in a match they eventually won 3-1.
It helps a great deal, though, that the 359 minutes that led Rice to his first goal in Arsenal colors have been so overwhelmingly impressive. In each of his first five matches in the Premier League and the Community Shield the former West Ham man has shown a broad range of qualities, from destroyer to propulsive engine via a surprisingly frequent shooter.
Against Manchester United, Arsenal got the Rice they must surely have known was a given, the one man midfield anchor who provides a near guarantee of superiority in the clashes across the middle of the pitch. It was perhaps all the more impressive given that the gameplan may well have changed at the last moment. It is understood that the Gunners' preparations for this weekend's game had included the possibility of Rice playing with Thomas Partey, who suffered an injury before plans could be finalized. If a different role had been intended for the England international, you would not have known it. Not for nothing did a question over his new signing's overall display elicit something not far off a "phwoar" from Mikel Arteta in his postgame press conference.
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Breaking down Rice's game
"A tremendous performance," Arteta said. "When you look at how a holding midfielder needs to dominate his area, how he needs to break up play, how he glided the team together when they were stretched a bit. Then he produced a magic moment to win us the game."
It will be the late goal that this game is remembered for, and he certainly deserves credit for not taking the safe option of squaring to Fabio Vieira. Rice, however, was bending the contest to his will far earlier, dominating the duels and quelling what little threat United posed on the counter. In the 10th minute, Kai Havertz handed the opposition a promising opening when he undercooked a through ball that might have sent Martin Odegaard away. As Christian Eriksen and Antony squirm the ball forward Arsenal find themselves in a position of real danger.
Bruno Fernandes could squeeze a pass into the space Antony is attacking. If he can spin out of danger then Marcus Rashford is in space behind him. Rice, meanwhile, is a little flat-footed. Not for long, however, as he bursts forward. Despite having momentum on his side Fernandes has to slide to reach the ball first. The 50:50 ball will ultimately loop up in favor of United but even the moment where possession was up in the air has afforded enough time for Ben White to scuttle back and ultimately claim a loose pass.
Two minutes later, Rice ensured Fernandes wouldn't get lucky again. Creeping in behind United's captain, he executed the sort of flawless sliding tackle designed to delight any stadium in England.
All the more impressive is what Rice does next, picking possession up and driving down the left. He might profile as the anchoring presence at the base of midfield but ball progression is one of this player's great skills. No Arsenal player carried their team further up the pitch on Saturday. No one completed more passes into the final third, one of the best of which came in this particular passage.
As he spots Gabriel Martinelli on the underlap he slows down, drawing Casemiro forward until he can slip the pass in behind for Arsenal's quickfire No.11. From there Martinelli fires in a cross that eventually lands at the feet of Havertz, who connects with more fresh air than ball. The best chance of the game all came about through the strength and composure of Rice.
So did the penalty that wasn't, a moment that again showcased the on-ball skills of Arsenal's new man. Collecting the ball off William Saliba in the 59th, Rice gave the ball to Eddie Nketiah before powering on into the space the center forward had vacated. Nketiah moved it on to Havertz who fell to the ground under pressure from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, in a moment initially called a penalty, but then reversed by VAR. Had he got a pass or shot away it may well have been that Rice was in the prime position to strike either from a first shot or rebound.
That intelligence around the penalty area has been a welcome trait for Arsenal early in his time with the club. Rice is a player who has spoken about his desire to add more goals to his game, showing a willingness to shoot from outside the box in the win over Nottingham Forest and proving to be a continual threat from corners, culminating in that goal against United. Then there is the eye for the right pass when positioned on the edge of the area, most apparent with his delicate through ball in the win over Crystal Palace that Eddie Nketiah clipped over the bar. We remain firmly in the realms of small sample size after four games, but for the first time in his Premier League career Rice is averaging more than one shot per 90 minutes while his expected assists have jumped up to 0.08.
His manager certainly believes that a player with a best goal return in a Premier League season of four can improve his output. "When you see the technical ability that he has and how he executed in this these moments [he can score more]," said Arteta. "His range when shooting from accuracy and the power he generates with no space, that's with both legs, he can do it with both feet.
"He's got the timing as well to arrive in the box. The position will dictate that a lot, because it's about how you arrive in the box. But he's got the ability to do that, that's for sure." Partey had quite a knack for bending in shots from outside the box last season, Rice showed a willingness to do the same in that opening day win over Forest. If he does so with frequency it would add another string to Arsenal's offensive bow.
Why Rice looks so settled
Rice, then, has clearly hit the ground running. As to why that is, in no small part his comfort on the pitch is a reflection of how at ease he felt off it. The 24-year-old has swiftly found himself a popular figure in the dressing room. He has bonded with familiar friends from England duty and had always remained close with Nketiah, with whom he shares the experience of having been released by Chelsea at academy level. It was apparent at the final whistle how much the Rice delirium of the Emirates Stadium crowd was shared by teammates who applauded him into the tunnel at the final whistle, David Raya leaping on his shoulders in delight.
Rice has the look of a man at ease, not shying away from the media spotlight after big performances against Crystal Palace and Manchester United. "I'm quite an outgoing character, I like to have a laugh and speak to people. It was important I settled in as quickly as possible, especially at a club like this. Everyone has made me feel so welcome."
Arteta added that the fit between his dressing room and Rice had been "very natural". "He's a great kid," he said. "I think he's got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself, having a bit of banter and being around the staff and the boys in a really humble way. I think he's fitting in brilliantly."
That adaptation is surely aided by the tactical adjustments made to put Rice in his best positions. For West Ham, that was often on the left side of central midfield, spots where he could see more of the pitch ahead of him and open his body up to spread passes out to the right. Arteta's decision to have his right back invert in the first three Premier League games of the season meant that his nine figure signing found himself in the same spots in his new shirt.
When that was an option that was no longer as easily available to them following Partey's injury, there were signs that Arsenal's left back might just invert to the max instead. It was hard to be absolutely certain when it was Oleksandr Zinchenko on the pitch, his wanderings across the field were one of the Gunners' great qualities last season, but when Takehiro Tomiyasu found himself in similar spots to Rice's right it did appear that this was a deliberate adjustment.
It doesn't take much imagination to see the complications that could emerge in transition if your left back is nearer to Bukayo Saka on the right wing than Martinelli on the left, but on Sunday it worked for the most part. Gabriel is as capable as anyone of plugging those gaps while Rice himself could equally have dealt with any pressure in that area if Antony had really exerted it.
That Arteta is having to make such adjustments to get Rice in his best spots at least hints to there being work to do at making sure the new signing is as dominant when he is less familiar environs. Equally, when Arsenal are getting performances as impressive as his first five have been, the inclination to start their new midfield signing in his best spot and figure it out from there is convincing.
Even at such an exorbitant price, the union of Arsenal and Rice always looked like being a good one on paper, and while five games is nowhere near enough to conclude whether such a sizeable sum has been well spent, the early signs look encouraging indeed.
