Coming into the new season, Mikel Arteta had a private conversation with Declan Rice. The topic was his role on the pitch. "I went to him and I said: 'You are not the lighthouse anymore.
You are something else,'" the Arsenal manager revealed after the 2-1 win over Leeds, after Rice set up Bruno Guimaraes' winner. "At the end of the season, I can tell you what [and] where I want to take him. But he's not the lighthouse anymore, he's something else and he needs to prove that on the pitch." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player For those confused about what football and light towers have in common, Rice was previously heralded as the 'lighthouse' of the Arsenal team.
"Somebody who brings a focal point, clarity and direction to everybody," said Arteta last season. "You look at him and you know where to head." The lighthouse tag followed Rice everywhere after he joined Arsenal in 2023. It was the same term Pep Guardiola used to describe Rodri at Manchester City.
"Guardiola tells me to be the coach on the field. He compares my position to that of a lighthouse," said the former City midfielder, now at Barcelona. "Don't move, let everything revolve around you." It sounds like a traditional defensive midfielder position, focused on an off-the-ball influence.
Rice has a new role in this team - and this season has heralded a new version of Rice. When it comes to improvement one area stands out from the Arsenal and England man so far this term - his passing ability in open play. In six league games this season, Rice has three assists from open play, more than he managed in the entire of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
And not only that, but all three of those assists are similar. Two of them were for Guimaraes goals against Sunderland and Leeds - both set up the Brazilian from outside the box, both set up long-range goals, both put Arsenal in front during sticky situations. The other assist was a quick ball through the lines for Kai Havertz's goal against Chelsea.
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