📢 Rumour Declan Rice

[GDeep™]

I trust your judgement. Do you see a 100 million midfielder or am I just nitpicking with this guy

 

[DuBB]

Leave it to Rasmi to list a bunch of things Rice cannot do minutes after he just did it.

This thread would have 5 more pages than it does now if he had even a mediocre game.

But he quite literally showcased everything he's good at in today's game and it is (relatively) crickets.

There isn't a single thing you'd want to see that he didn't give us a preview of tonight.

Line breaking passes, breaking up play, recovery tackles, dribbles through the middle of the pitch to beat a man/beat a press, defending in the box, tracking back and catching up with opposition forwards and halting attacks, short simple passes, cross pitch flank switches...

This isn't me saying he's perfect, or that he's the be all end all - there are always other players, and always Plan B's - but it is me saying that after 3+ years of being an international and Premier League starting Central Midfielder, perhaps this guy that people in football say is top class might (shock horror) be top class.

 

[Blankety Blank]

A couple of seasons ago we couldn't have dreamed about signing Rice who was the hottest young DM in the prem.

Most on here would have absolutely creamed themselves over the limited Bissouma.

I suggested the not as good Calvin Phillips as decent alternative DM player we could possibly get & he ends up as a Man C squaddie.

Anyone who would not be happy with Rice at Arsenal is imho really smoking some weird sh!t.

I get people being concerned about the price.

Unfortunately the market has gone batsh!t crazy.
We recently bid best part of 80m for the kid from Brighton.
Rice can play 6 or 8 to a high level is technically very good & importantly for a youngish player has excellent defensive awareness. Is he an upgrade on Partey as a 6 right now imo no. However he has very few weaknesses & can get around the pitch better than Jorgi & could also do the '8' job including the often overlooked on here defensive requirement.
I think at only 24 with the qualities he has helping us sure up 2 positions he would be ideal & Homegrown to boot.

Probably £75-£100m to 'normal clubs' in the current climate.

Could be 120m+ if Chelsea or Newcastle get involved.

First bid I reckon 70m & some weird little w@nky military style jacket for Sullivan

 

[Legend14]

There is no comparison between Rice and Partey. Partey can do anything Rice can do, but the inverse is not true.

Not sure how anyone believes Rice can play 8. I just think there are some trying to force Rice into our system because he is a good player from England, when we really should be looking at other opportunities. 6 is clearly taken and Rice is not a backup player.

 

[Dokaka]

There is no comparison between Rice and Partey. Partey can do anything Rice can do, but the inverse is not true.

Rice is pretty good at the good old "staying fit" thing. He's also a better ball winner.

 

[Mitch]

There is no comparison between Rice and Partey. Partey can do anything Rice can do, but the inverse is not true.

Not sure how anyone believes Rice can play 8. I just think there are some trying to force Rice into our system because he is a good player from England, when we really should be looking at other opportunities. 6 is clearly taken and Rice is not a backup player.

Partey can't do the defensive aspects of game anywhere as well as Rice ( such as defensive positional awareness, Partey is certainly not best to put it mildly and Rice is great at it, hence the inceptions he makes).

Rice is also the more accurate passer of the two and doesn't give the ball away as reckless and as often as Rice.

Rice also doesn't drop the horror show performances that Partey does ,(although granted Partey has improved and has done then much less than last year).

 

[Legend14]

Partey can't do the defensive aspects of game anywhere as well as Rice ( such as defensive positional awareness, Partey is certainly not best to put it mildly and Rice is great at it, hence the inceptions he makes).

Rice is also the more accurate passer of the two and doesn't give the ball away as reckless and as often as Rice.

Rice also doesn't drop the horror show performances that Partey does ,(although granted Partey has improved and has done then much less than last year).

So you are saying Rice is a safe player. So is Elneny. If you want to win matches, you need impact players ( See our starting 11) - players who aren’t afraid to make mistakes to make something happen. Look at Rice’s highlight reel and compare to Partey’s. This is not a real discussion. No one would play Rice over Partey in our system because the demands of the position far exceed Rice’s capabilities and he would not win matches for us. He is a less appealing option.

 

[Legend14]

Rice is pretty good at the good old "staying fit" thing. He's also a better ball winner.

Staying fit, sure. Better ball winner? If Partey only had such a sole responsibility, and played for a defense minded team, I doubt it.

Not saying he doesn’t have quality. Just responding to anyone who compares him to Partey’s level and capabilities.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

It's not really a question of Rice being a better player than Partey. Rice is the better conventional DM, Partey has more bells and whistles to his game.

If you're asking for an upgrade on Partey in the system we play currently, I'm not sure there is another player in the world on current form that can do what Partey has been.

Rice is a hell of a talent, he's 24, a baby in DM terms, with Partey's injury record, age and off field stuff he's not going to be around forever so if you get a chance to sign one of the best young players in his position you do it and let him bed in with minimal pressure.

 

[North5]

Doesn't Rice have more ball wins than any other player in Europe or something?

 

[Goonger]

So you are saying Rice is a safe player. So is Elneny. If you want to win matches, you need impact players ( See our starting 11) - players who aren’t afraid to make mistakes to make something happen. Look at Rice’s highlight reel and compare to Partey’s. This is not a real discussion. No one would play Rice over Partey in our system because the demands of the position far exceed Rice’s capabilities and he would not win matches for us. He is a less appealing option.

He might not win as many matches as us for the things he does on the ball (even though I think he's more than decent enough at them). However, he might win us more matches by making us a bit more defensively solid in certain games.

Look at our record in big games, conceded 3 at Old Trafford, conceded 2 Vs Liverpool at home, 2 vs Utd at home, 3 vs City at home, still to go to Anfield and Etihad where I doubt we'll keep a clean sheet in either.

I'd rather go to these games, especially away from home, a bit more structured. We can do it, we were good vs Sp**s and Chelsea for example where I thought these were ideal away performances, but these have both dropped a level this season.

Our expansive game on the ball is really good, but we are still easy to play through at times, and we won't get lucky with last minute goals every week like we have vs Utd, Villa & Bournemouth.

You don't need to sign players who are the exact same, there's room for good players in our squad that offer different attributes, and Rice is a good player.

 

[ChefMan21]

Imagine being Barca and saying you wouldn't sign prime R9 Ronaldo because they aren't prime Messi...

 

[Sapient Hawk]

Anyone who watched yesterday's match & still believe he isn't good enough for us despite how fantastic he was (and would be when surrounded by players of a similar calibre) are simply choosing to be obtuse!!

 

[Vinci]

Good enough for Southgate's boring, pragmatic style, would get exposed in Teta ball.

 

[bingobob]

People comparing Partey and Rice neglect to highlight the differences in style of the team and the quality within the team. I'm pretty sure Partey was regarded as a destroyer when we signed him due to Madrid's playing style.

Ive no doubt Rice's game would change if he signed for us. Especially the risk aversion element of it.

 

[Mitch]

So you are saying Rice is a safe player. So is Elneny. If you want to win matches, you need impact players ( See our starting 11) - players who aren’t afraid to make mistakes to make something happen. Look at Rice’s highlight reel and compare to Partey’s. This is not a real discussion. No one would play Rice over Partey in our system because the demands of the position far exceed Rice’s capabilities and he would not win matches for us. He is a less appealing option.

If by safe player, you mean player not known for giving away reckless passes, who can retain possession and has great defensive positional awareness? Then yes, Rice is "safe", as was Gilberto Silva, Gareth Barry, Makelele, Mascherano and Deschamps were "safe".

Partey probaly has a more entertaing highlight video than Gilberto Silva but the reality is from what seen of Partey so far, he's not fit to tie Gilberto's boots.

Lorik Cana has a more entertaining highlight reel than Makelele and I know who I rather of had playing for Arsenal.

It's remind me of Alex Song who also was also reckless and sloppy with his passing. Martin Lawrenson on MOTD would pick out 1 very good pass by the song and praise him as superb player it seemed every match. When in reality Song over dozen times a game, would have head down and make a long passes, hitting and hoping it would somehow find RVP. However, the majority of time Songs passes went to the opposition or was overhit and went out play. Barcelona must of bought song by watching MOTD highlights and never botheres to send a scout to watch a game.

 

[Idiotologue]

If by safe player, you mean player not known for giving away reckless passes, who can retain possession and has great defensive positional awareness? Then yes, Rice is "safe", as was Gilberto Silva, Gareth Barry, Makelele, Mascherano and Deschamps were "safe".

Partey probaly has a more entertaing highlight video than Gilberto Silva but the reality is from what seen of Partey so far, he's not fit to tie Gilberto's boots.

Lorik Cana has a more entertaining highlight reel than Makelele and I know who I rather of had playing for Arsenal.

It's remind me of Alex Song who also was also reckless and sloppy with his passing. Martin Lawrenson on MOTD would pick out 1 very good pass by the song and praise him as superb player it seemed every match. When in reality Song over dozen times a game, would have head down and make a long passes, hitting and hoping it would somehow find RVP. However, the majority of time Songs passes went to the opposition or was overhit and went out play. Barcelona must of bought song by watching MOTD highlights and never botheres to send a scout to watch a game.

In our system the #6 has to play a key role in progressing the ball. You can't have a pure destroyer type in there, he needs to take chances to break lines. That's what makes Partey valuable, he's one of the rare players who can both provide defensive coverage over wide spaces and progress the ball to a high level. A Partey that played conservatively wouldn't be as impactful. You're putting undue weight on balls given away without contextualizing it properly.

 

[A_G]

I trust your judgement. Do you see a 100 million midfielder or am I just nitpicking with this guy

I don’t know who started this £100m stuff, but Ornstein said the price will be “in the £70m range”.

 

[lomekian]

Good enough for Southgate's boring, pragmatic style, would get exposed in Teta ball.

Does anyone consistently look good playing for Southgate. Hard to think that Arteta couldn't get more out of him

 

[mpower2540]

There is no comparison between Rice and Partey. Partey can do anything Rice can do, but the inverse is not true.

Not sure how anyone believes Rice can play 8. I just think there are some trying to force Rice into our system because he is a good player from England, when we really should be looking at other opportunities. 6 is clearly taken and Rice is not a backup player.

Interesting, I still think Rice looks better as an 8 than a 6. His offensive capabilities are what excite me. In the first half he went on a driving run and he just glided past people. As a 6 he just looks steady to me, very good at breaking up play but I think he could do that from 8 too, imagine him and Partey counter pressing/defending transitions.

I have to say in the second half he wasn't in the game, in fairness the whole team were bad so fatigue probaby kicked in as well as Southgate once again holding the team back, but I would've liked him to try get on the ball a bit more to try and wrestle some control back.

I think the club have earned some trust here so if they think Rice is the guy I'm more than happy to back them on it. There's no doubt he has talent and the base to improve, so under a good coach his level could skyrocket.