Mikel Arteta has finally addressed Arsenal's biggest weakness with Declan Rice transfer

Arsenal's £105million transfer for Declan Rice is vital in improving their physical presence in midfield

It was a Declan Rice challenge that started the beginning of the end for Arsenal's Premier League title challenge.

With the Gunners leading West Ham United 2-0, Rice dispossessed Thomas Partey before feeding Lucas Paqueta, who was brought down as the referee awarded a penalty. That tackle from the then-Hammers skipper kickstarted a comeback, with the result ending 2-2, derailing Mikel Arteta's side in their quest to win the title.

The England international goes a long way in closing the gap on City, an uphill battle that may have seemed insurmountable had the champions added him to their already-stacked midfield. It doesn't take a genius to work out that Rice is a top midfielder but when you take a closer look at the numbers it is clear to see that he possesses many of the attributes that Arsenal lacked last season.

Partey anchored Arteta's midfield brilliantly during the first two-thirds of the season, consistently delivering top-class performances in the centre of the park that saw him dictate from deep. But mistakes, like the one at the London Stadium, started to become far too commonplace.

Sometimes the Ghana international would look for the vertical pass too early in the build-up phase and his side lost control of some matches as a result. His decision-making in general just seemed a bit off, as evidenced when he opted to shoot from 30 yards during the dying embers of a 3-3 draw against Southampton which took place five days after the game against West Ham.

Partey then followed that up with a subpar display during the crushing 4-1 defeat to City, during which he looked out of his depth physically. In truth, he didn't look fit and Arteta seemingly agreed - dropping the 30-year-old for January signing Jorginho in the subsequent matches.

Fitness has been an issue for the former Atletico Madrid man during his time in north London. As per transfermarkt, the veteran midfielder has accrued seven different injuries in his three seasons at the Emirates Stadium, missing 37 matches in the process.

This hopefully won't be a problem with Rice, who is one of the most durable players in the Premier League. transfermarkt has just one absence recorded during his entire career, missing a single match due to being ill - and availability is far from his only quality.

That loss against City exposed their lack of physicality and running power in midfield, two attributes Rice boasts in abundance. The 24-year-old consistently wins his duels all over the pitch, something that will help Arsenal quickly turn the ball over after being dispossessed.

In fact, as per fbref, he led the league in both ball recoveries and interceptions last term, demonstrating just how elite his reading of the game is. Arteta himself highlighted Rice's physical attributes when asked what the England international would be bringing to the Gunners.

"His leadership, his aura, obviously the experience he already has in this league", the Spaniard said. "He’s going to bring the team to a different dimension.

"He’s got the physical qualities that we’ve been missing for a while, that’s why we had to do what we had to do to get him, because he’s really important for us. A while ago we spoke about players that could complement each other, give us more flexibility, more depth and more quality, and take a winning hunger into the team with players who really want to push themselves to a different level.

"I see him like a lighthouse, he will light (up) the others and improve the others, and make the team better. The way he talks, the ambition he has and the passion for the game is exactly what we need.”

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