Rice is the important thing ingredient
The good Arsenal striker disaster of 2025 has introduced numerous focus onto Mikel Merino, who has been foisted into the limelight as an emergency striker. I can’t recall a interval of my Arsenal supporting life that left the squad with out an out there striker. In January 2000, I recall going to Previous Trafford and having to make use of Freddie Ljungberg as a second striker.
Kanu was at AFCON, Suker was suspended and Bergkamp was injured. Thierry Henry was nonetheless match for that recreation, the query was merely who would line up because the second striker in a 442. Equally, in January 2004, Arsene Wenger gave Thierry Henry a few weeks off because the Gunners negotiated a trio of cup video games towards Middlesbrough.
Wiltord and Kanu have been injured so, once more, the query was who would line up forward of Dennis Bergkamp upfront. Because it turned out, Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires performed as alternating false 9s. I believe that is the kind of mannequin I’d favour with the return of Gabriel Martinelli to the squad.
Arsenal’s striker disaster has been completely compounded by accidents to Saka and Martinelli, the concept this staff would line up with a entrance three of Sterling, Merino and Tierney for a Champions League knockout recreation was completely infeasible even just a few brief weeks in the past. I believe now I would like for some flavour of Martinelli and Trossard rotating between left-wing and centre-forward.
Merino has performed upfront as a result of, firstly, he has an analogous body to Kai Havertz and an analogous propensity to win duels. He’s reduce out for the bodily facet of being a centre-forward. Secondly, he doesn’t but have a set place elsewhere within the staff, so enjoying him as a centre-forward has not concerned eradicating a key piece from elsewhere within the staff.
The issue is, completely understandably, Merino simply doesn’t have the on-ball choreography, the sixth sense for when to maneuver into the channels and join with the large gamers or make himself a sounding board as Havertz does. Merino helped create Zinchenko’s aim towards PSV on Wednesday night by profitable a flick on from a Raya lengthy cross and that’s the kind of work that Mikel Arteta will recognize.
Since his two-goal cameo from the bench at Leicester, Merino has supplied little direct aim menace. His aim menace from midfield depends on late arrival into the penalty space, operating from behind the ball. In truth, each his objectives towards Leicester kind of seem like they have been scored by an attacking midfielder.
The primary one is the sort of aim I very a lot envisage him scoring in his pure left eight place. The second that afternoon got here from a run from deep on the counter. Merino’s common XG per 90 this season is 0.24. In his final 5 appearances, all of which have been upfront, that has dropped to a mean of 0.14 per 90. He’s producing much less particular person aim menace.
However clearly, numerous his job is making a presence that helps others to provide aim menace. Arsenal have been extra aggressive with their full-backs in latest weeks and when Riccardo Calafiori performs, he has a really freeform jazz interpretation of the left-back function and Arteta has unmoored him to have the ability to noodle away within the opposition half.
Calafiori’s final 5 performances have yielded a shot each 48 minutes on common. Merino is averaging a shot each 69 minutes throughout the identical 5 recreation subset. Nevertheless it isn’t simply Calafiori who has an elevated license to invade the opponent’s penalty space and to get round and past Merino.
Declan Rice has scored in his final two video games and that isn’t a coincidence. After final week’s 7-1 demolition of PSV within the Netherlands, I used to be struck watching the highlights at how typically Rice was mainly within the centre-forward place for a lot of of Arsenal’s objectives. I took some display caps.
Watching the objectives again from Tuesday and Rice’s superior place in lots of them actually struck me.
— Tim Stillman (@tim-stillman.bsky.social) March 7, 2025 at 7:14 AM
You’ll be able to see that Rice has been given a much more attacking temporary in the course of the nice Arsenal striker famine. Final season, Declan managed seven objectives and eight assists within the Premier League that are very sturdy attacking numbers for a participant extra famend for his out of possession qualities.
At Previous Trafford he made a robust assist run and lashed residence cutback from contained in the field. On Wednesday towards PSV, he as soon as once more made a late supporting run to move residence a Raheem Sterling cross. He’s at the moment fulfilling the Lampard / Gerrard / David Platt / Bryan Robson (delete as age dictates) temporary very properly.
This piece from Ali Tweedale at Opta actually units it out. Of Rice’s efficiency at Previous Trafford, Ali writes, ‘Solely Martin Ødegaard (38) accomplished extra passes within the remaining third than him (36), whereas Rice additionally led the way in which for touches within the opposition field (six). His whole of 16 progressive carries – shifting with the ball no less than 5 metres in direction of the opposition’s aim – was additionally the best of each participant on the pitch.’
Later within the piece, Ali writes, ‘He made extra off-the-ball runs into the opposition’s field (9) than another participant.’ Long term, it does make me assume that the ‘left eight’ function would possibly simply be the very best one for Rice within the long-term because it extra absolutely makes use of his broad skillset. I believe he may / can play as a six however I worry it’s a limiting function for a real box-to-box participant who carries a lot field crashing menace.
That could be a query that may await the summer season, nevertheless. For now, Arsenal have a mannequin the place Merino’s temporary is to occupy defenders, come brief every so often and permit runners to go previous him. Rice and Calafiori are usually the 2 on the moped dashing to Merino’s facet, whereas Odegaard and Nwaneri are a bit of extra thought of on the proper.
The irritating factor about analysing this incarnation of the Arsenal assault is that none of it has a long-term future. We’re very a lot in make do and mend territory. Merino will virtually definitely by no means play on this function once more for the membership after Could, Tierney and Sterling shall be gone, Zinchenko will seemingly go and subsequently deploying him in midfield just lately appears to be extra about filling in blanks than real experimentation.
Nonetheless, within the debate about what Declan Rice is, or what he finally seems to be on this Arsenal staff, this spell has some use for the supervisor past fielding heat our bodies. Rice appears to be like increasingly, to my eyes anyway, like a real field to field midfielder (for all of the predictable grief he acquired for celebrating his aim at Previous Trafford final week, he celebrated his final ditch sort out much more vociferously).
Necessity has proved to be the mom of invention for Mikel Arteta in latest weeks however everyone knows that gaffer tape shouldn’t be a long-term building resolution. Declan Rice’s renaissance, nevertheless, might need long term ramifications as Arteta designs the following section of his Arsenal staff.
