"World Sports News" wrote an article that Arsenal midfielder Rice, who has outstanding footwork, is being compared to "another Beckham".
When Arsenal signed Rice for £105 million in the summer of 2023, coach Arteta did not plan to let him take set kicks. In fact, for the first six months, Rice rarely took corner kicks, as the team expected him to contest headers.
The turning point occurred during the winter training camp in Dubai and repeated practice in training. Since starting to regularly take set kicks in January 2024, Rice has produced 10 goals in the Premier League, which is twice as many as any other player in the Premier League in the past two years. England goalkeeper Pickford described it as having "one of the strongest spinning shots I've ever seen", which was dwarfed by Arsenal teammate Saka's accuracy on the other side.
Rice himself admitted: "I didn't come to Arsenal to take free kicks... but the more I took free kicks, the more confidence I gained. I realized I could do what they asked of me."
In addition to set kicks, Rice's role at Arsenal has also changed. Last season, he mostly played as a forward left inside midfielder, but now he is positioned deeper, partnering with Suvimendi as a central midfielder, which allows his number of touches per 90 minutes to increase exponentially.
Rice is nicknamed "the horse" by his teammates because of his strength and speed. He is the key to Arteta's aggressive pressure that "does not give the opponent a breather." Rice explained Arteta's request: "Once you lose the ball, put your head down and try your best to recover quickly."
In the England national team, head coach Tuchel is building a World Cup lineup around Rice. Although only 26 years old, Rice has made more than 70 international appearances and serves as a bridge between two generations of players. Tuchel described Rice as "impressive" and was "surprised" by his technique and hitting accuracy, which were reminiscent of David Beckham.