Welcome to The Radar. Nick Wright’s Sky Sports column combines data and opinion to highlight must-know stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League. this week:
🔴 Will the US lead Arsenal’s trophy charge?
💪 Kusanov becomes more valuable to Manchester City
🔍 Players to watch this weekend
How Rice is aiming for new heights
Declan Rice once again demonstrated the full extent of his quality in Arsenal’s Champions League clash against Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. In fact, it all happened in the 10 seconds leading up to the finish line.
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Paul Merson reacts to Rice’s stunning goal against Bayer Leverkusen
He had the defensive awareness to chase Montrell Culbreath’s run and prevent counterattacks, the anticipation and athleticism to take the lead and intercept passes, and the technical flair to control the bouncing ball and guide it into the post.
He continues to make a huge contribution to Arsenal’s pursuit of silverware, both defensively and offensively. Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City seems like a good time for him as he is in good form and is still looking for ways to improve his game.
That’s no mean feat considering the level he’s already reached. Rice was named Arsenal’s player of the year last season. This time he is aiming to win the Premier League, and bookmakers say he is the favorite to win the title ahead of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
His role continues to evolve. In his first season at Arsenal, he played primarily as a number six, but in his second year he was promoted to number eight. In his third film, he is somewhere between the two, interacting with Martin Zvimendi, with whom he has developed a deep understanding and adapting to the needs of each moment.
Arsenal’s average position shows how Rice’s role has been adjusted
His tactical understanding will be invaluable to Mikel Arteta. “It’s the way he reads the game, his intelligence, his decision-making on and off the ball, when he passes, how he passes, where he looks, how he executes and his timing,” he told Sky Sports in 2023.
During this time, he becomes physically stronger and stronger.
This season he has achieved a new level of dominance, winning duels at a much higher rate than last season, both on the ground and in the air. He has played more minutes for Arsenal’s Bar Zvimendi than any other outfield player, but his intensity rarely wanes.
“Find the energy and find a way to win,” he said after the Leverkusen game, embodying the warrior spirit of this Arsenal team. “The passion they show in everything they do is amazing,” Arteta added. “It’s very difficult to do it every three days at that level.”
Playing further back this season hasn’t come at a cost offensively. Rice continues to score goals and assist. He is second only to Fernandes in terms of chances created in the Premier League this season, with a total of 58 from set pieces and open play.
His ability to attack the ball made him a devastating weapon for Arsenal. The same goes for his ball-carrying. Rice ranked 14th among Premier League midfielders in progressive carries last season. This season he has been at the top of his game and is responsible for getting Arsenal up the pitch.
Declan Rice ranks first among midfielders in progressive carries
Rice revealed Arteta’s role in his development in an interview with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp in January, recalling a meeting in the manager’s office a few games into the season.
“He wasn’t happy with some things, so he brought me in,” he said. He added that the problems were related to “running, tracking players and positioning with the ball”. “The good thing about this manager is he knows when to put the knife in.”
He certainly elicited the reaction he intended. Rice goes into Sunday’s clash with Rodri at Wembley as this season’s standout central midfielder, but at 27 he is in his prime and still developing.
After Rice arrived from West Ham, Arsenal lost the title to Manchester City in successive seasons, but recent meetings between the two sides highlight his influence.
The 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in April 2023 was Arsenal’s 12th consecutive Premier League defeat against Manchester City, but they are unbeaten in six games since signing Rice that summer.
Kai Havertz, who was signed for the same period, also played an important role. But Rice is one of just three Arsenal players to have started all six games for Arsenal, alongside Gabriel and William Saliba, and the only one of that trio to have improved upon his arrival.
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Thierry Henry defends Arsenal over criticism of playing style on Monday Night Football
He has already proven to be a transformative addition and the hope now for Arsenal is that silverware will finally follow.
“It could be the start of something,” Rice said of this Sunday’s Carabao Cup final. “This is the first trophy up for grabs. If we can win it, there will be huge momentum moving forward.”
And Rice knows a thing or two about driving Arsenal forward.
Sunday, March 22nd 3:30pm
4:30pm kickoff
Is Kusanov faster than Van de Ven?
Manchester City will be without center back Marc Gehi, who is playing in the cup, for the match against Wembley. With Josko Gvardiol still absent, John Stones and Nathan Ake unavailable, and Ruben Dias just returning from injury, things are not ideal for Pep Guardiola.
But at least they can call on Abdukkodir Kusanov. The 22-year-old has bounced back from last year’s toughest Premier League debut in recent memory against Chelsea to become one of the Premier League’s best young defenders.
His individual performance against Real Madrid this week, and especially against Vinicius Junior, was the latest to highlight his huge potential. Vinicius scored a penalty and added a second goal after Guehi’s mistake, but he took little joy as Kusanov’s explosive pace repeatedly saved his team from predicament.
Abdukhodir Kusanov had the highest top speed of any other centre-back
That task has traditionally fallen to Kyle Walker, but Kusanov, signed from French side Reims 14 months ago, is equally well equipped for the task. He has the highest top speed of any centre-back in this season’s Premier League, including Micky van de Ven.
Kusanov showed impressive poise to match his physical attributes. Against Real Madrid, he completed all but one of his 59 passes. His overall accuracy in this season’s Champions League is 95.6%, lower than Bayern Munich’s Jonathan Tarr and Aleksandar Pavlovic.
Manchester City will need Kusanov to maintain the same form against Arsenal and will be hoping for a better result this time. He seems poised to play a central role in their future.
Player Radar: Other Players to Watch
Sunday’s Carabao Cup final is the main event, but before that comes the huge Tyne Wear derby and two crucial games in the Premier League relegation battle. Axel Disasi has impressed under manager Nuno Espirito Santo since arriving on loan from Chelsea in January and will be a key player in West Ham’s clash with Aston Villa.
Live Radar: What’s in the sky Sunday?
Newcastle vs Sunderland, Aston Villa vs West Ham and Spurs vs Nottingham Forest will be broadcast live on Sky Sports before the Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Man City, kicking off at 4.30pm on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.
Read last week’s Radar column
Was Reece James jinxed by Radar? The Chelsea captain suffered a hamstring injury at a cruel time, after highlighting his importance following his new contract in a column last week. We also had a tour of Lewis Hall in Newcastle.
