£200 million for 3 people! Arsenal smashed Rice with more than 100 million to make up for tactical shortcomings
A year ago, Arsenal spent 192 million euros to strengthen the squad and put the team off to a vigorous season.
A year later, after missing out on the title, this summer window, Arsenal opened their wallets again. Just the first 3 signings, it is necessary to come up with a budget of 200 million, and there will be further investment in the follow-up, how ambitious is the gunner? Is Rice really worth £105 million?
01. The first three signings cost £200 million: this one won Manchester City
a. £200 million on three signings: Arsenal rebuild midfield
Soon after the end of the season, Arsenal's recruitment work was in full swing. The £65 million buy of Kai Havertz, the imminent cost of $105 million to bring in Rice, and the close to negotiating Dutch international Timberer for $30 million.
After that, Arsenal are also likely to bring in young Lavia to further increase the selection of personnel in midfield.
In particular, England international midfielder Rice has also been favored by Manchester City. The boss hopes he can succeed Gundogan, so he made an offer of £80 million fixed transfer fee + floating bonus. :
Fortunately, Arsenal's pursuit of Rice was extremely firm, and when the Gunners' offer reached a total of £105 million (including floating bonuses), Manchester City chose to withdraw. At least in this round, Arsenal were not defeated again by the Blue Moon.
b. Rice sets Arsenal's all-time transfer fee record
Paying more than £100 million to buy a defender, Arsenal not only broke the all-time transfer fee record, but also made Rice the second most expensive person in English football history (after Bellingham) and the second highest transfer fee in the Premier League (after Enzo).
Paying such a staggering price is naturally not just about getting a Hukou player.
Because Rice has the tactical upgrade that Arsenal need, he will also be a help to take the team to the next level.
02. Insurance offense and defensive conversion: Rice is good at interception and pressing
a. Arsenal need to be able to hold the formation with a back back
Arsenal's attacking system, focusing on the flank without the ball and the overall formation forward pressure, resulting in acceleration up front and outflanking in front of goal, or allowing Odegaard or open shots in the back.
Saka and Martinelli's strong points on both sides can also bring full-backs and forwards at back (Xhaka and Ben White).
However, in this style of play, the outside line will be very important for the ball control of the secondary attack, after all, the full-back and the back are pressed forward to the 30-meter area of the front court, and it will be dangerous to lose the ball too easily.
Counting on Jorginho to complete the counter-robbery is obviously not safe. This time he didn't let his opponent kick the ball out, but he was also whistled for a foul. Coupled with Xhaka's position at the back in the past few seasons, it is easy to miss people in defense or eat cards because of too much movement. Arsenal are determined to revamp their midfield, and for good reason.
On the other hand, Arsenal's central axis strength is also biased, and only the individual confrontation of Saliba and Thomas in the entire central midfield is relatively superior.
However, Thomas is slow and does not turn flexibly. It was no accident that the team's defensive quality took a serious dive after Saliba's injury last season and his form declined.
The pain of being doubled by Manchester City will not be forgotten by Arteta and Gunners fans, and this summer window is also the reason for the focus on the transformation of the back position.
Rice's advantage is that he has a strong confrontation and forward pressure ability when switching between attack and defense, and presses through his top, reducing the pressure at the back and reducing the opponent's chance to counterattack.
b. Rice is valuable in offensive and defensive conversions
From the pre-World Cup statistics, you can see that Rice's intensity on the defensive end is his strong point.
Because his advantage is the explosive power of stretching his legs to make movements, suddenly he can make a mistake or successfully intercept the ball after the front and back.
This round, I believe many Arsenal fans will remember. When the team was pressed by West Ham at the back and the ball was given to the feet of the more capable Thomas, many thought it was stable this time.
The result was Rice's steal and break, leaving Arsenal out of the game.
Rice's kick was critical, and Thomas apparently didn't expect his upper tackle to be so fast and his lower foot so accurate. West Ham countered after the break, and Gabriel's foul sent in a penalty to close the gap.
Let's look at this shot of the England national team, when the attempt to pass the ball into the box was cleared, and if the Iranian team then passed the ball out, the team would be in big trouble.
As a result, the key interception in midfield was none other than Rice. His move will be very important for Arsenal, and it will also give the team a better chance to counterattack on the spot, reduce the possibility of being suddenly broken through the defensive line, greatly ensure the efficiency of daily league points, and stabilize Arsenal's top position in the table.
03. Rice Station Protection Consciousness Deviation & Has Propulsion and Long Shot Capabilities
a. Deviation in the consciousness of station protection
Rice is technically not really considered a defensive back.
If you compare his stats to Joan Armeni, Rice is a bit of a surprise on offense and has obvious flaws on the defensive end.
Rice is not very good at retreating, except for his ability to intercept with his feet on the run, he moves well on the defensive end, but the consciousness of the position to protect the space is biased. He is often able to return in the first wave, and the value of the subsequent is to push out and oppress.
However, when to the front top and the protection of the space behind you, there are big deficiencies in the choice of consciousness and presence.
In this round, when Italy's Pessina crossed to Pellegrini, Rice gave up protecting the combination of left-back Fikay Tomori and left-back Trippier, and he wanted to come forward, but the reversed Fratesi got a solo chance to face the goalkeeper.
This time it is the same reason, it is still the Italian team who has the advantage of possession in the 30-meter area of the front, and Rice's defensive choice is to press the front, ignoring the emptiness of the combination of the central defender and the left-back.
Fortunately, the quality of the opponent's pass is not high this time, and the central defender needs to move faster.
Looking at the defense this time, the effect of Rice coming out to press is still obvious, but someone behind him needs to make up for it.
Fortunately, it was the back partner Ward Prowse who made up for the break and put the team's defense back on its feet. It can be seen that Rice's slow partner Thomas may have problems.
b. Buy Tinbel is packaged
Perhaps Arteta also understands the reasoning, so he bought Kai Havertz and Rice to strengthen the confrontation in the middle.
At the same time, buying Timber at right-back or right-centre-back is so that the backcourt all-rounder with his own backfield attributes can protect Rice at any time. After all, Timber has good skills at his feet, and after taking the ball, he can control the ball and organize the attack.
At the same time, Rice also has a certain ability to advance and dribble the ball, this time it is Rice who pulls away to the wing, half-turns, protects the ball and passes the ball.
With his handling of the ball, he brought opportunities in the follow-up box front. Unfortunately, Ben Lahema passed the ball to Anthony, whose shot bounced off the goal frame.
In addition, Rice also has a long-range shot and good diagonal long pass ability, which helps to release Arsenal's winger's advantage, and can also add a back-row scoring point outside of Odegaard, making up for some of the losses caused by Xhaka's departure.
Conclusion:
Although buying Rice for more than £100 million is certainly a serious premium. But to take the Arsenal system to the next level, Rice has his overall value.
Especially Arsenal is not bad money, they are eager to achieve something next season, so anyway, it is not the fans' money that is spent, and supporting the summer window towards the goal of 300 million euros is the inner portrayal of Arsenal fans at this moment.