LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - As Arsenal's players slumped on the pitch last month having seen rivals Manchester City effectively wipe out what a couple of weeks earlier had been their nine-point Premier League lead, Declan Rice was caught on camera hollering: "It's not done!"
Fast forward and thanks in no small part to the 27-year-old dubbed "the horse" by Arsenal fans on account of the amount of work the English midfielder gets through each game, it is done - and very much to Rice's liking.
His relentless running, pin-point set pieces and tireless tackling have been pivotal in the north London club's first league title in 22 years - and have fully justified the record 105 million pounds ($141 million) the club spent on him in 2023.
Statistically, his influence has been immense. He has played in all but one of Arsenal's league matches this season, scoring four goals, providing five assists and completing well over 2,100 passes with a near 90% success rate.
Defensively, he has been perhaps even more crucial. His 70 tackles and 37 interceptions have combined with equally superb performances from teammates David Raya in goal and centre back pairing Gabriel and William Saliba, to make the Arsenal defence the meanest in the league.
Manager Mikel Arteta was asked in January, after Rice had scored a crucial brace in a tight 3-2 away win against Bournemouth, whether he thought Rice's attributes made him one of the best midfielders in the world.
"For me yes," Arteta replied immediately. "Declan is constantly adding things to his game, he's constantly adding things to his role in the team. I don't see where he can stop."
BEATING HEART
Rice himself says he was already a football fanatic when still in nappies. He signed to Chelsea’s academy at seven but was released at 14. He then spent almost a decade at West Ham United, where he led the club to their first trophy in 43 years.
He was already a well-established England international but since joining Arsenalhis stock has rocketed, going almost stratospheric when he scored a sublime brace of goals from free kicks against Real Madrid in last year's Champions League quarter-finals.
Without doubt, he is now the club's beating heart. An unreal workload, his contribution in set-piece routines, leadership and the versatility to slot into almost any position when required make him invaluable.
"He’s a manager’s dream," former England striker Alan Shearer said of Rice earlier this year. "His attitude is amazing... he very rarely misses games and when he’s out there, he's a regular 8/10. He's been incredible."
On Monday after Rice had completed another lung-busting 99 minutes in Arsenal's narrow 1-0 win over relegated Burnley that took them to the cusp of the title, Rice told SkySports: "This group, this manager, we really want it."
Now after 22 years of trying, Rice's prodigious horsepower means they have it.
($1 = 0.7445 pounds)
(Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Clare Fallon)
