Declan Rice should be picking up the PFA Player of the Year award if he continues to lead Arsenal's Premier League title charge with outstanding performances and constant set-piece success.
We have seen so many players falter after making a big-money move, with some unable to deal with the pressure of living up to expectations. The weight of an astronomical fee paid for their services weighs heavy, and they never make the step-up to the elite level anticipated.
The £105 million spent on Rice has been money well spent and you could argue that he has been the biggest success of any £100m+ signing in Premier League history. He was at his imperious best and on the scoresheet as the Gunners took all three points with a comfortable 3-0 win away to Burnley on Saturday.
Rice Coming To The Boil For Arsenal
Rice
Rice has been a talisman for Mikel Arteta ever since arriving at the Emirates in the summer of 2023 but has stepped it up a gear this year. There was his outstanding display against Real Madrid last season with a free-kick brace that will forever go down as one of his most famous nights.
The 26-year-old continues to wreak havoc with his set pieces, tormenting the opposition with corners that always put goalkeepers under the cosh. But he grabbed a goal in the win over Burnley, meeting a fine Leandro Trossard cross to head home his side's second of the afternoon.
Rice, dubbed incredible by the club's media team, is a jack-of-all-trades whose ball-carrying abilities go hand in hand with his playmaking brilliance. No player has created more chances in the Premier League in 2025 than the England international.
While many point towards Gabriel Magalhaes being the North Londoners' main threat from set-pieces, it's Rice who is the main man tasked with ensuring Nicolas Jover's plans are put into practice. He can find Gabriel with a sumptious ball into the box but also has proven to be clinical at finding the back of the net such as his double against Madrid.
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Rice and Gabriel linked up for Viktor Gyokeres' opener at Turf Moor, with the English midfielder sending a corner to the Brazilian who then found Gyokeres. If such form continues from the duo then Arteta may finally end the club's 21-year title drought.
Next up in the league is a trip to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland next Saturday (November 8) who have been this season's surprise package. Rice will again be tasked with using his set-piece accuracy to try and trouble a Black Cats defence that have the joint-second-best defensive record in the league.