How will record signing Rice make Gunners title challengers?

It’s an enormous fee for the 24-year-old defensive midfielder but Mikel Arteta and the Gunners have had their sights set on securing his signature for months.

And after fighting off Manchester City, Bayern Munich and several other clubs across Europe, they finally have the man they hope will take them to the Premier League title.

But how does Rice transform Arteta’s Arsenal?

From a physical profile, Rice adds height and youth to the midfield post-Granit Xhaka, and potentially post-Thomas Partey, helping Arsenal maintain a physical edge for years to come. The former West Ham captain also brings leadership to help fill the void left by Xhaka.

In possession he’s an excellent ball carrier, capable of beating several players to evade the press, and under Arteta’s tutelage, he’ll become even better at turning away from pressure with his back to goal.

Passing is another area that’s already strong but will be unlocked in Arteta’s system surrounded by the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. Rice’s on-ball ability will add more safety and solidity than last season, with scope to get even better.

Defensively, Rice is as good as they come in Europe and could allow Arteta to experiment with some exciting attacking line-ups. 

There has been a lot of speculation on where Kai Havertz will play for Arsenal but with Rice anchoring behind, there could be the option to try him in midfield with Odegaard for certain games.

Rice provides Arteta with a lot of tactical flexibility, physicality and leadership on the pitch, improving everyone around while also being capable of featuring higher up the pitch as well as filling in at centre-back, all of which can strengthen Arsenal’s title bid.

Dutch defender Jurrien Timber was also announced in this past week to complete the first phase of Arsenal’s transfer window, now Edu and the transfer team can look to raise funds through sales before turning to another addition or two later in the window.

The pair joined up with the squad for the trip to the USA for the next round of pre-season friendlies against the MLS All-Stars, Manchester United and Barcelona.