As we enter a World Cup year, England manager Thomas Tuchel will have a clear idea of the squad he wants to take to North America. He may indeed know the core of his ideal starting XI to face Croatia on June 17 in Arlington, Texas.
Depending on injuries, captain Harry Kane is a certainty and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will be No 1. Declan Rice’s form for Arsenal this season has also made him one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Rice has been the epitome of consistency under Mikel Arteta and a driving force in Arsenal’s Premier League title challenges. Tuchel will hope he can do likewise for England in their bid to win a first World Cup on foreign soil.
Rice built his reputation as a defensive midfielder at West Ham United. His form prompted a £100million move to Arsenal in 2023, yet recently he has been playing more of an attacking role for club and country.
In an era obsessed with systems and players being tagged in very specific roles, Rice has become a throwback to midfielders of old. A box-to-box, all-action midfielder who is effective in both penalty areas.
Declan Rice wins the game for Arsenal at Bournemouth (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Historically, England have often possessed players who boast a knack of timing their runs to score goals. After Bryan Robson and David Platt in the 1980s and 1990s came Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes at the turn of the century. Successive managers were unable to solve the conundrum of how to accommodate the trio in the same side.
At Bournemouth on Saturday, Rice showed he could become that type of player for Tuchel’s England.
His four goals this season take him to within one of Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres as Arsenal’s top scorers this season, and his three assists put him only behind Trossard (four).
Rice is revelling in getting forward and he ranks fourth for Arsenal in total shots on goal (27) and shots on target (10).
Bryan Robson (No 16) latches onto Terry Butcher’s flick-on to put England ahead after 27 seconds against France in their opening game in the 1982 World Cup (Allsport/Getty Images)
He is also Arsenal’s second-highest chance creator with 32, just behind Bukayo Saka’s 37, and he has created the most big chances (nine) — golden opportunities to score that are expected to be taken — than any of his colleagues.
His tally of 142 line-breaking passes — a pass that is played between the line of defenders and pushes the team closer to the opposition goal — is also the highest, with Martin Zubimendi (133) second.
His greater attacking output doesn’t mean he has relinquished his defensive duties, either. His 33 tackles are the second highest behind Jurrien Timber (46) and his 18 interceptions are second only to Zubimendi’s 24. Rice has also regained possession for his side in the middle third 50 times, and 96 times across the entire pitch, the highest of any Arsenal player.
Given the freedom, Rice is extremely effective in open play, but he has played a significant role for Arsenal from set pieces too.
Declan Rice (No 4) hits a free kick for England against Wales (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
One of Arsenal’s many strengths in recent seasons is their effectiveness at set pieces. As one of the key takers of corners and free kicks, Rice’s delivery has been vital to that.
Arsenal top the Premier League list for the most goals from set plays this season (17) — 14 when excluding penalties — the most in the Premier League.
Rice has created 12 chances from set pieces, which is the seventh-highest in the league, but the most by an Arsenal player.
“Declan Rice is unbelievable,” defender Gabriel told Amazon Prime after Arsenal’s 4-0 Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid in October.
“I’m watching Arsenal and every time they get a corner, my head is in my hands,” former Liverpool defender and pundit Jamie Carragher said in October on the Sky Sports Premier League Podcast.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before in football. I think the whole football world feels every time they get a corner, they’re going to score a goal.”
Rice has forged a promising partnership with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson for England, with the latter providing the holding platform that allows Rice to break forward.
Anderson has also created one more chance than Rice this season from his set-piece deliveries, giving Tuchel even more options. Set pieces could be a defining factor in the tournament this summer.
Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson have dovetailed nicely for England (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Rice has also been robust this season. He has made 27 appearances in the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup, starting 22 matches. He overcame a knee injury to face Bournemouth and showed no signs of the knock hindering his performance. He scored twice in a league game for the first time in his career.
With Arsenal still involved in four competitions and competition likely to be long and as gruelling as ever, the only concern for Tuchel will come after the season. Despite his all-action style, any fatigue could be overcome by the buoyancy of what promises to be a memorable campaign for the Premier League leaders.
And, like Arteta, Tuchel knows he can rely on Rice to drive others on and off the pitch.