Arteta's Dilemma: Should Rice Move to Right-Back?

Mikel Arteta has spent most of this season building his team around Declan Rice. Now, with the finish line in sight, he might have to move his midfield general out of the very position that made Arsenal contenders again.

Ben White’s knee injury in Sunday’s win over West Ham United has blown open a problem Arteta thought he’d solved months ago. With Jurrien Timber already out since mid-March, Arsenal’s carefully constructed back line suddenly looks fragile. Against West Ham, the solution was improvised: Rice shunted to the right to plug the gap, before Cristhian Mosquera was trusted to see things out.

It worked on the day. But this is no one-off puzzle. This is a title run-in and a Champions League final rolled into one unforgiving fortnight.

Rice the Midfield Engine… or Emergency Full-Back?

Rice has been the heartbeat of Arsenal’s season. The 27-year-old has anchored midfield, driven attacks, and added a genuine end product: five goals and 11 assists across 53 appearances in all competitions. Those numbers tell only part of the story. He has given Arsenal authority, control, and a spine they have lacked since their last great title side.

Now Arteta must ask himself a brutal question: can he afford to weaken his midfield to fix his defence?

On The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt saw echoes of a familiar Manchester United problem from their own playing days. Butt recalled: “Roy Keane played right-back for two-thirds of a season.” It was a reminder that even the biggest personalities have been asked to sacrifice for the team.

Scholes went further, drawing a direct line to the current Arsenal situation. “He played there loads because United had Bryan Robson and Paul Ince. Roy played there loads and was brilliant. Declan Rice looks like he would suit playing at right-back to me. He can play there. He’s not a big creator anyway.”

It’s a pointed observation. Rice’s game is built more on control, aggression and tempo than on threading defence-splitting passes. Shift him to right-back and you lose some presence in the middle, but you gain a defender with the athleticism to lock down a flank and step into midfield when needed.

That kind of tactical elasticity is gold dust in May.

A Title Race on a Knife-Edge

The stakes could hardly be higher. Arsenal sit top of the Premier League with 79 points from 36 matches, five clear of Manchester City. It sounds comfortable until you remember Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand and the habit of finishing seasons like a machine.

One misstep and that five-point cushion could evaporate in a single weekend.

Rice has been central to Arsenal’s push for a first league crown since 2004. He has set the tone in big games, covered ground others wouldn’t dare, and turned tight matches in their favour. To remove him from midfield now feels like ripping out the engine of a car that’s just hit top speed.

Yet Arteta may have no choice.

White’s injury strips Arsenal of a dependable outlet on the right, a defender who understands the nuances of tucking inside, overlapping, and building play from the back. Timber’s absence has already cost them depth and flexibility. Mosquera is the wildcard: promising, energetic, but untested at this level in a title-deciding stretch.

Trust the youngster and keep Rice where he is strongest? Or slide Rice back and hope the midfield can cope without its leader?

This is not just about positions on a tactics board. It’s about risk.

Burnley, Palace, PSG – and One Huge Call

The first decision comes on Monday, when Arsenal host Burnley. On paper, it looks straightforward: home game, inferior opposition, chance to manage minutes and keep rhythm. In reality, it’s a trap fixture in disguise. Burnley will be direct, physical, and relentless in testing any perceived weakness down that right side.

If Arteta throws Mosquera in from the start, he backs the defender to grow under pressure and keeps his midfield intact. If he starts Rice at right-back, he signals that security at the back is non-negotiable, even if it blunts Arsenal’s control in the middle.

After Burnley, the margin for error tightens again. Arsenal finish their Premier League campaign away at Crystal Palace, a ground that has made better teams than this Arsenal side suffer. Selhurst Park under floodlights, with a title possibly on the line, is no place to be experimenting.

And then comes Budapest.

On May 30, Arsenal face holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. Kylian Mbappé and company will hunt any weakness, any uncertainty. Arteta will want his defensive unit settled long before his team walks out in that arena. That adds another layer to the Rice question: whatever he decides now, he must live with it all the way to Europe’s biggest stage.

Rice’s adaptability, once a luxury, is now a necessity. He can hold midfield. He can lock down the right. He can do both within the same game. But he is still only one player, and Arsenal’s season might hinge on where he stands when the whistle blows.

Arteta has built a side that finally looks ready to step out of the shadow of 2004. The next two weeks will reveal whether he dares to move his most important piece on the board to finish the job.