In what was a meaningless game to end the Gunners' Group B campaign, Arteta trialled a new experiment with Rice playing in a new role. Speaking after the game, the Arsenal boss explained his decision to play the 24-year-old in defence: "We are very short at the back.
"I really wanted to try if something happens, how we’re going to resolve that situation. I thought he was really good."
When asked if Rice could play in defence on a regular basis moving forward, Arteta added: "He has played there before. We have to try as if we have an emergency we have to understand and to be sure that we can fill that gap in the right way.
"He has a lot of composure on the ball, he wins a lot of duels for a player of his size and he has done it in the past. He is a good option."
Despite testing his new experiment with Rice, Arteta still opted to start William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in the dead rubber 1-1 draw against PSV - rather than give some Hale End talents a chance to impress in the senior team. Saliba was withdrawn after an hour, whilst Gabriel played the full 90 minutes as Arsenal luckily avoided any serious injuries to their key players.
Rice entered the fray alongside Ben White and Martin Odegaard, with the former Hammers captain slotting into the heart of the defence. The 24-year-old showed his maturity and experience by defending well and bringing the ball out from the back with confidence.
Rice's performance has given Arteta a new solution to solve a key concern that has always loomed over the squad. The concern being if Saliba and/or Gabriel suffered long-term injuries which could derail the Gunners' pursuit of success and silverware.
If Arsenal were to lose the likes of Saliba or Bukayo Saka for an extended period of time, you would significantly notice a drop in performance levels. Just look at last season as an example, Saliba missed the end of the 2022/23 campaign and the impact that had on the time was huge.
Saka was less effective as he failed to receive the same level of service as he did with Saliba in the team, using his impressive distribution from defence. The confidence in defence lowered and performance levels were hampered by the Frenchman's absence.
However, with Rice capable of filling the void in defence if Saliba or Gabriel were to be sidelined with injury - it looks as though the drop in performance level would not happen or be tolerated this season. The England international is one of few world-class players at the Emirates Stadium and Arteta now knows he can rely on Rice to lead the team if the worst case scenario presents itself again.
0 Comments