[Arsenal](https://goonernews.com/) star defensive midfielder Declan Rice is having an outrageous season anchoring the unit, and he seems to have exploded in the 2025/26 campaign with the addition of a significantly better midfield partner for him than Thomas Partey in former Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi.
While Zubi has been amazing in his own right, Rice has started to separate himself from the pack lately, and he is a major reason why Arsenal are back in the driver’s seat to win the Premier League title.
According to a stat from Squawka, Rice is first in the Premier League in terms of big chances created with 23, beating out the Liverpool duo of Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo in second and third with 21 and 17, respectively. Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers also has 17.
Those three are all forwards who play closer to goal, so the fact that Rice, who is a regista and more of a No. 6, is leading the Premier League in terms of big chances created is absolutely insane.
People talk about Rice as if all he is good for is sideways passing, but nothing could be further from the truth. He is a transcendentally great deep-lying playmaker, and this statistic proves it, yet barely anyone is talking about it.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.