Arsenal secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory away at Liverpool in a high-intensity Premier League battle, with the decisive moment through a piece of surprising display of quality.
When Kai Havertz tapped home the game's only goal on 16 minutes from a drilled low cross, the architect was not a traditional winger or an advanced playmaker, it was central midfielder Declan Rice.
Making a lung-busting, arcing overlap outside right-winger Noni Madueke into the right-hand channel, Rice went completely untracked before delivering a low ball across the six-yard box that prompted Havertz to declare post-match: “Ninety per cent of the goal belongs to him.”
That assist was Rice’s fifth of the 2026/27 campaign, matching his entire tally from the previous season.Crucially, all five have come from open play.
Striver.Football analyses the positional tweak Mikel Arteta has implemented to transform Declan Rice into an open-play creative machine.
From left-sided anchor to right-wing overlapper
Historically, Rice’s creative output from open play has been limited by his starting position. Playing predominantly to the left of Arsenal's midfield three, his primary attacking contribution involved clipping diagonal balls over the top for runners in behind, frequently Bukayo Saka. While effective, it rarely produced low crosses from the right touchline.
Statistical tracking from the opening months of the 2026/27 season highlights a dramatic structural adjustment:
A quarter (25%) of Rice’s touches in the opposition half have come on the right side of the pitch, a massive jump from just 13 per cent last season.
The winning goal against Liverpool was the physical manifestation of this shift. By timing his runs from central areas to burst past the winger on the right, Rice exploits blind spots in opponent defensive blocks.
The honest conversation that sparked the surge
Great managers constantly challenge their elite players to evolve. In his post-match interview at Anfield, which was quoted by The Athletic, Rice revealed the catalyst behind his new role:
"The manager had a really honest conversation with me at the start of this season. He still thinks I can do more for this shirt, for this club. We spoke about overlaps before the game, and I spoke to (Havertz) about attacking the box with real aggression."
While Rice is widely celebrated as one of the world's best all-round midfielders, capable of breaking up play, carrying the ball through contact, and delivering lethal set pieces, the truly elite midfielders consistently manufacture high-volume open-play chances.
Arteta's demand for higher attacking output has unlocked a new dimension in Rice’s game.
How Rice has racked up his assists
A deeper look at Rice's five assists this season shows how his role is diversifying beyond set-piece reliance:
Simple balls out wide leading to finishes, such as Havertz’s near-post strike against Chelsea and Madueke’s deflected winner at Nottingham Forest.
Teeing up Bruno Guimaraes for finishes from the edge of the D against Leeds United and Sunderland.
His pinpoint, Kevin De Bruyne-esque drilled cross against Liverpool—marking his first "classic" open-play chance-creation masterclass of the campaign.
While set pieces remain a formidable weapon in his locker, generating these dangerous deliveries directly from open-play transitional movements makes Arsenal infinitely harder to defend against.
Can Rice keep producing these assists from open play?
Rice’s precise position has always been delightfully fluid. Emerging at West Ham as a centre-back before settling into a midfield anchor role, he has been deployed at Arsenal as a box-to-box runner, a holding shield, and even twice at right-back last season.
Even on international duty with England at the World Cup, he drifted across roles, deputising successfully at right-back against DR Congo because his coaching staff recognized his superior 1-v-1 attacking thrust compared to specialised defenders like Ezri Konsa or Jarell Quansah.
While Arteta is not converting Rice into a permanent right-back, integrating him into right-sided offensive rotations provides Arsenal with unpredictable variety.
