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Arsenal have a midfielder who said he could score 20 a season if he played up front after Kai Havertz’s injury

Charles Jones

Wed 12 February 2025 17:45, UK

Arsenal have an attacking crisis on their hands at the moment.

Indeed, Kai Havertz is out for the rest of the season and the Gunners don’t have any other striking options.

Gabriel Jesus is also out for the season, while Gabriel Martinelli is injured too.

Factor in that Bukayo Saka is also sidelined at the moment and you have a remarkably threadbare attack.

Ethan Nwaneri could play up front according to Mikel Arteta, but placing that sort of responsibility on a 17-year-old who isn’t a natural striker is ill-advised to say the least.

Arsenal may have another in-house solution though in the shape of Declan Rice.

• READ MORE: Arsenal sources indicate whether they could sign a free agent after Kai Havertz injury news

Declan Rice could play up front for Arsenal

It may sound preposterous, but perhaps Declan Rice could play as a striker for Arsenal in the absence of Jesus, Martinelli, Saka and Havertz.

The England international certainly has the physical attributes to lead the line, he’s fast and strong, and he’s also a fantastic finisher.

Indeed, according to Tomas Soucek, Rice was actually the best finisher at West Ham during his time at the club.

“The best shooter is Declan Rice. I already told him he should get 10 or 15 goals a season. In the future I think he will. He’s a very good finisher and I think in the future he will have many goals,” Soucek said.

Soucek isn’t the only player to remark on Rice’s finishing either.

James Maddison praised Rice’s shooting ability after seeing his stats on the new EA FC video game.

“I just think Declan’s shooting is that high. Again for what they’re giving you. I see you shoot in training everyday and it should be way higher than that,” Maddison said.

“That is a disgrace, it can’t be based on how many goals you score, you’re a six, but the shots that you do.”

What Declan Rice has said about playing up front

It’s not just Rice’s peers who have remarked on his finishing ability.

Indeed, Rice himself has discussed the idea of playing up front in the past as well, claiming that he’d score 20 a season if he was a number nine.

“If you could swap positions for one game only where would you play and why?” Rice was asked.

“Number nine, a big target man,” Rice said.

“How many goals are you getting?” Rice was asked.

“A season? 20 plus,” Rice said.

Rice has never played directly as a number nine, but there have been periods in games where he has wandered forward and been something of an auxiliary striker.

Adrian Clarke noted last season that Rice was playing like a striker at times for Arsenal.

“Declan Rice, his performance was interesting. He was charging around as a striker,” Clarke said.

“He’s doing this more and more. He did it for the Saka goal against Newcastle where Havertz nicks it. For the first goal he basically stood up front and for his goal, just watch him, he’s basically standing up front, then he shows for the ball like a striker and finishes like a striker would.”

Rice may well have what it takes to play as a striker. After all, he outperformed his expected goals tally by some way last season.

Indeed, Rice scored seven league goals last season from an xG of just 3.32, so he knows how to find the net.

Arsenal players who’ve changed positions

Let’s not forget, Arsenal have had plenty of joy in recent years when changing a player’s position too.

Kai Havertz was initially brought in as a midfield player and he ended up going up front, while Bukayo Saka was a left-back at the beginning of his career before becoming one of the best wingers in the world.

Meanwhile, famously, Thierry Henry came to Arsenal after spending most of his career as a left winger, but he ended up being the best striker in the Premier League.

Even in recent times, this season Myles Lewis-Skelly has retrained as a left-back after emerging as a young midfielder in the academy.

Mikel Arteta isn’t afraid to shuffle his pieces around when he needs to, and, maybe, just maybe, moving Rice up front isn’t a bad idea.