{"id":291583,"date":"2023-10-07T23:22:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T23:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=291583"},"modified":"2023-10-07T23:22:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T23:22:13","slug":"the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can put an end to the dirty dozen against Man City if Declan Rice can be the main midfield man while Rodri serves a suspension for Pep Guardiola&#8217;s side<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rodri serves the final game of his three-game suspension against Arsenal\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The game is\u00a0a chance for Declan Rice to show he\u2019s the main midfield man\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off! &#8216;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you want to be considered title contenders, you really should be able to beat your main rivals at least once in 15 attempts. And not lose to them 12 times in a row.<\/p>\n<p>Alas, this is where Arsenal find themselves going into their game against Man City. The Gunners have not beaten City in the Premier League since 2015 and have lost the last dozen.<\/p>\n<p>Yet they will rarely have a better chance of ending that streak than on Sunday with City missing the key cog in their machine.<\/p>\n<p>Rodri serves the final game of his three-game suspension, during which time City have lost the two games he\u2019s missed.<\/p>\n<p>What a chance for Declan Rice to show he\u2019s the main midfield man.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/22\/76287087-0-image-a-34_1696712550960.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>What a chance for Declan Rice to show he\u2019s the main midfield man against Man City<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/22\/76287091-12606101-Since_the_start_of_the_2020_21_season_Rodri_has_touched_the_ball-a-105_1696715884870.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Rodri has touched the ball more than anyone else\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/07\/22\/76287081-12606101-Of_all_midfielders_this_season_to_touch_the_ball_at_least_400_ti-a-106_1696715884873.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Of all midfielders this season to touch the ball at least 400 times, only Rodri has given the ball away with a lower percentage of them than Rice<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a reason why Rodri\u2019s so important for Man City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Rodri has touched the ball more than anyone else, played more passes than anyone else and \u2014 even though Man City have more of the ball than anyone else \u2014 won possession more than anyone else.<\/p>\n<p>In short, he wins City the ball and then makes sure they keep it.<\/p>\n<p>So, too, does Rice. Of all midfielders this season to touch the ball at least 400 times, only Rodri has given the ball away with a lower percentage of them than Rice.<\/p>\n<p>Only six, including Rodri, have made more progressive carries than Rice while only four have played more forward passes while under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>While City have lost five of 15 Premier League matches without Rodro, they have lost just five of their last 67 league games when he&#8217;s played.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12606101\/THE-SHARPE-END-Arsenal-Man-City-Declan-Rice-Rodri.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can put an end to the dirty dozen against Man City if Declan Rice can be the main midfield man while Rodri <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\" title=\"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can put an end to the dirty dozen against Man City if Declan Rice can be the main midfield man while Rodri [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/THE-SHARPE-END-Arsenal-can-beat-City-if-Rice-can-be-the-midfield-man.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\",\"name\":\"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Soccer\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/soccer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft","og_description":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can put an end to the dirty dozen against Man City if Declan Rice can be the main midfield man while Rodri [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/THE-SHARPE-END-Arsenal-can-beat-City-if-Rice-can-be-the-midfield-man.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/","name":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-07T23:22:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/the-sharpe-end-arsenal-can-beat-city-if-rice-can-be-the-midfield-man\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Soccer","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/soccer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"THE SHARPE END:\u00a0Arsenal can beat City if Rice can be the midfield man"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}