Declan Rice has emerged as an unexpected set-piece expert and Gareth Southgate can take advantage of that development at Euro 2024
You would be hard pressed to find a flaw in Declan Rice's game, but Arsenal's £100 million ($130m) man has found a way to emphatically answer a question that wasn't necessarily being posed. The 25-year-old was sensational in the narrative-oozing 6-0 demolition of his former club West Ham last time out – but it wasn't just his wonderful long-range strike that caught the eye.
Despite his 6'1'' frame, Rice is not a player known for his contributions from set-pieces, but, back in the familiar surroundings of the London Stadium, Arsenal showed they have found a way to extract even more quality from him.
Rather than involving himself in the pushing and shoving in the penalty area, Rice stood over the ball as the set-piece taker and produced not one, but two assists with expert, in-swinging deliveries – first from a corner, and then from a teasing free-kick. His late goal was merely the cherry on the cake. It seems the Gunners have unlocked yet another side to Rice's ever-developing game, and England could benefit on the international stage.
GettyWinter break pays off
Arsenal reportedly focused on drilling set-pieces during their January warm-weather training camp in Dubai. It's remarkable that that was seen as a priority in attack, given they had scored the joint-most goals in the Premier League from offensive set-pieces at the time (11), alongside Everton.
Since they returned to action, Rice has unexpectedly emerged as their first-choice corner and free-kick taker on the left, providing dangerous in-swinging deliveries with his right foot. Left-footed Bukayo Saka has continued as the taker on the other side.
Rice had taken just three corners in 20 games before Arsenal jetted off to Dubai, per the . Since then, he has been charged with taking 12 in the space of four games – and those have remarkably yielded two assists.
The first of those came in the rout of Crystal Palace in their first game back, and his pair of contributions at the London Stadium mean Arsenal have raced ahead in terms of Premier League goals scored from set-plays (16), with five of those coming since the winter pause.
AdvertisementGetty'Better threat outside the box'
You might think that Rice would be seen as an asset and aerial threat from set-pieces, given his height. Indeed, he scored his first Arsenal goal from a corner against Manchester United and headed a late winner against Luton, albeit from a cross in open play.
However, Arsenal's tacticians have seen something in him and his role has now changed – with Arteta going as far to say that he is a bigger threat from outside the penalty area.
Speaking after the dismantling of West Ham, the manager said: "He had to focus on the task and what he had to deliver. Set-pieces were one of those because when we have certain players on the pitch, he is a better threat outside the box than inside the box."
Speaking to , Arteta added: "[He] has huge quality in his delivery and it's something we can maximise in relation to the players we have on the pitch, in the box and he delivered again."
GettyElite set-piece coach
Rice is one player who has evidently benefited significantly from working with renowned set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover.
The Frenchman – who is often seen prowling the touchline when Arsenal win a set-piece – arrived at the Emirates ahead of the 2021-22 season and initially made a huge impact defensively, with the Gunners remarkably not conceding a set-piece goal until April of that campaign. Now he seems to have struck a balance with attacking output, too, as Arteta's side mount a second-consecutive title challenge.
According to , Jover's sessions are short, with his routines developed bit by bit in the build-up to a match; first the taker is expected to get the delivery right, crossing to no-one, then the attackers are added, and finally the defenders.
Arsenal boast a tall squad, with the likes of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White and William Saliba all over six-foot tall, and Jover looks to exploit that, adopting 'confusion tactics' as multiple players act as moving parts in one overall manoeuvre, acting as a diversion.
Although Rice took set-pieces at West Ham with varying degrees of success, it's clear he's taken that element of his game to another level under Jover's tutelage in north London.
Getty ImagesJWP made to sweat
One subplot of Rice's dominant return to the London Stadium was that he completely outshone fellow England international James Ward-Prowse in the process, and he even stole his party trick.
Indeed, one pundit even drew a comparison between the two. "I think his [Rice's] delivery is as nice on the eye as maybe not David Beckham, but as nice on the eye as James Ward-Prowse. He seems to get it on the money every time. He seems to get so much whip on the ball," Andros Townsend told .
Ward-Prowse – whom West Ham signed as a part-replacement for Rice in the summer – has always been a solid midfield operator, but the main reason he has found himself in and around the England squad in recent seasons is because of his aptitude from set-pieces, which is second to none.
The Southampton academy product is already in double figures for assists in all competitions this season, including one from a corner in the 2-0 victory at Arsenal in December.
However, Ward-Prowse's last England cap came in June 2022, and given he already finds himself on the fringes of Gareth Southgate's squad, his chances of being included in the group for the upcoming European Championship in Germany could be all but over amid Rice's emergence as a potential dead-ball specialist.
