The exceptional ace could help get even more out of the Englishman.
Arsenal have managed to get their transfer business fairly spot on over the last few years, whether buying or selling.
Mikel Arteta has welcomed Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus into his team, but perhaps the most high-profile arrival has been Declan Rice.
The £105m man was one of the biggest transfer stories of 2023, and his move to the Gunners has been a success so far.
So, fans should be excited that one of the latest players touted for a move to N5 this summer could be the perfect man to unlock the former West Ham United captain and get even more out of him.
Arsenal transfer news
Speaking on the latest episode of Football Insider’s Inside Football podcast, Keith Wyness, the former CEO of Everton, revealed that Arsenal are still interested in the Toffees’ star midfielder Amadou Onana and that he’s heard “negotiations are ongoing” between the two clubs.
While that sounds like good news for the Gunners, it doesn’t mean a deal will come cheap.
A recent report from the Mail Online revealed that while the Merseysiders are willing to sell the Belgian, they will still demand a fee in the region of £50m.
That said, even for that amount of money, this seems like a transfer well worth pursuing, especially as it could help Arteta get even more out of Rice going forward.
How Onana could unlock Rice
So, there are two ways in which Onana could help Arsenal get more out of Rice. The first is that he could start as the team’s left eight, thus allowing the Englishman to become the club’s starting six – a role he admitted was his “best position” on the pitch.
However, the other way the Everton ace could get more out of the former Hammer is by starting at the base of midfield himself and allowing the Arsenal man to maraud forward as the left-eight, a role he claimed leaves him “excited.”
This may well be the best use of the pair in midfield, as last season, the 25-year-old started 19 of 51 games in central midfield for the North Londoners and racked up an impressive ten goals and assists in the process, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.9 games.
In contrast, the Dakar-born star scored just two goals from 17 starts in a central area, which equates to a goal involvement every 8.5 games, suggesting that he wouldn’t be able to match the Englishman’s offensive output in that role.
Moreover, when comparing the pair’s defensive-midfield relevant underlying numbers, the Merseysider’s 6 foot 4 “monster”, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, actually comes out on top.
|
Onana vs Rice |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats per 90 |
Onana |
Rice |
|
Passing Accuracy |
84.1% |
88.9% |
|
Tackles |
3.06 |
2.32 |
|
Tackles Won |
1.64 |
1.42 |
|
Blocks |
1.08 |
1.03 |
|
Shots Blocked |
0.26 |
0.31 |
|
Passes Blocked |
0.82 |
0.73 |
|
Clearances |
1.34 |
1.45 |
|
Miscontrols |
0.86 |
0.87 |
|
Dispossessed |
0.43 |
0.61 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
6.90 |
4.97 |
|
Aerial Duels Won |
2.24 |
1.09 |
|
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 Premier League Season |
||
For example, while he has slightly worse passing accuracy, blocks fewer shots, and makes fewer clearances, he makes more blocks overall, miscontrols the ball less often, makes far more ball recoveries, wins more aerial duels, makes and wins more tackles, and is dispossessed less frequently as well, all per 90.
Ultimately, the beauty of signing Onana is that Arteta would have the freedom to play him either as a six or left-eight, but to get the absolute most out of Rice, he should stick with playing him as the former. Therefore, Edu and Co should do all they can to bring the Belgian ace to N5 this summer.
