Arsenal one step from unleashing Declan Rice as double transfer plan finally clear

Most of the attention heading into the summer transfer window for Arsenal was how to increase the 'goals for' tally. What winger would be signed to compete on the left but provide backup to Bukayo Saka on the right? Will it be Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres as the new No.9?

That was the glaring issue for Arsenal last season. They scored 91 times in the Premier League in 2023/24 with three players hitting 12 or more. Due to injuries and form, nobody managed double figures last year.

Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka surely would have if they weren't missing for more than three months each. Regardless, both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli played over 2,300 minutes and fell short. There were fewer goals from midfield, especially when considering that Mikel Merino's six came mostly when played up front in the second half of the campaign.

Martin Odegaard had a real struggle, once more impacted by fitness. It is no surprise that Arsenal could not really compete on all fronts properly at the same time when so much of the squad was being stretched.

But, almost one month into the summer window, the attack is not the area set to change first. Instead, Kepa Arrizabalaga will arrive in goal to address an important but low-key need behind David Raya. And the midfield will take on a new shape.

Out go Jorginho and Thomas Partey, in come Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, it seems. The good news for Arsenal is that it once more sees to an area which could have grown to become a problem if not dealt with.

Arteta didn't rely on Jorginho much last season but he needed the notion of cover, at least. Even with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly able to play in deeper midfield roles, there would have been some holes if two had left and only one came in.

Zubimendi was always going to arrive but a decision on Partey's future has dragged on. From early May, Arteta was describing how keen he was to see the Ghanaian remain in north London.

The fact that he will leave at the end of his contract after June 30 posed an issue for Arsenal. It is one that will be filled by a combination of Zubimendi and Norgaard. Stylistically, Norgaard is closer to Partey as a defensive wall but Zubimendi is the more high-profile name to take the starting spot.

Norgaard will surely be a rotation and second-choice player on the most part, essentially filling Jorginho's squad role. Arsenal have needed more of this sort of player in recent years. For £11million, it is a shrewd piece of business.

What signing two No.6s also does is ease the pressure on Declan Rice. He might have joined Arsenal with the sense of being a defensive midfielder but really he is more adventurous than that.

Rice's freakish physical attributes - his long stride, incredible engine, and genuine pace - make him a defensive titan for Arsenal but he is not someone to simply sit in front of the backline. Even against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, when Arsenal had to adapt their plan and played without the ball more, he drove the team forward.

He has balanced playing next to and with Partey, alongside leaving his partner to take Arsenal up the field. This is something he has done more and more in the past two years, leaving Partey to sit.

Previously, in other versions of Arteta's Arsenal, Partey has been one to surge from deep, arriving on the edge of the box. He still does that but Rice has the younger legs and energy to carry it out now.

Rice is closer to Granit Xhaka's left-sided No.8 spot than the destroyer that many saw him as. That is eerily similar to how Xhaka himself was first seen.

With Zubimendi a passing No.6, closer to Jorginho in profile, there is still room for Rice's defensive contribution, but there is actually a chance for him to be used in the role he is best at. On the left side of midfield, running with the ball at his feet and getting up the pitch.

Norgaard is unlikely to play either in the Rice role or Martin Odegaard's spot on the right, which shifts into a No.10 more often than not. Instead, he could be a pivot with Zubimendi at the base of midfield.

Again, this gives Rice added freedom. It is where Merino played last season but never truly looked comfortable. He was more of a functional player than someone to express himself or transform.

The midfield dynamic at Arsenal is, again, about to shift. If it gets the best out of Rice then it will be worth it. And although it is not the attacking excitement that many would have hoped for, it will be key to their success.

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