Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Rice driving Arsenal's trophy charge?
💪 Khusanov's growing value to Man City
🔍 A player to watch this weekend
How Rice is hitting new heights
Declan Rice provided another demonstration of the full breadth of his quality during Arsenal's Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. In fact it was all there in the period of 10 seconds leading up to his goal.
- Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
- No Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
There was defensive awareness as he tracked Montrell Culbreath's run to protect against the counter, then anticipation and athleticism to steal in ahead of him and intercept the pass, then technical guile to control the bouncing ball and guide it inside the post.
Defensively and offensively, he continues to make an immense contribution in Arsenal's pursuit of silverware. Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Manchester City seemingly comes at a good time for him, in form and still finding ways to elevate his game.
That is no mean feat given the levels he had already reached. Rice was Arsenal's player of the year last season. This time he is gunning for the Premier League prize, rated as the bookmakers' favourite to win it ahead of Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.
His role continues to evolve. Having played mostly at No 6 in his first season at Arsenal, he was pushed up to No 8 in his second. He is somewhere in between the two in his third, interchanging with Martin Zubimendi, adapting to what each moment requires.
His tactical understanding is invaluable to Mikel Arteta. "It's the way he reads the game, his intelligence, his decision-making on and off the ball, when to pass, how to pass it, where to look, how to execute, and the timing of that," he told Sky Sports in 2023.
Meanwhile he goes from strength to strength physically.
This season, he is achieving new levels of dominance, winning duels, both on the ground and in the air, at a much higher rate than last term. He has played more minutes than any other outfield player at Arsenal bar Zubimendi and yet his intensity rarely dips.
"You find energy, you find ways to win," he said after the Leverkusen game, personifying the warrior-like spirit of this Arsenal team. "The passion they show in every action is remarkable," added Arteta. "Doing it every three days at that level is so difficult."
Playing further back this season has not come at a cost offensively. Rice continues to contribute goals and assists. He ranks second only to Fernandes for chances created in the Premier League this season, his total of 58 split between set-pieces and open play.
His ball-striking ability has become a devastating weapon for Arsenal. So too has his ball-carrying. Rice ranked 14th among Premier League midfielders for progressive carries last season. This season he is top, taking responsibility for driving Arsenal up the pitch.
Rice revealed Arteta's role in his development in an interview with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp in January, recalling a meeting in the manager's office a few games into the season.
"He pulled me in because he wasn't happy about a few things," he said. The issues related to "running, tracking your man and positioning with the ball", he added. "The good thing with this manager is that he knows when the put the knife in a little bit."
He certainly elicited the intended response. Rice now approaches his duel with Rodri at Wembley on Sunday as this season's outstanding central midfielder, entering his prime at 27 and still improving.
Arsenal were of course beaten to the title in consecutive seasons by Manchester City after Rice's arrival from West Ham but recent meetings between the two sides highlight his impact.
The 4-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium in April 2023 was Arsenal's 12th in a row in the Premier League against Manchester City but they are unbeaten in six following the signing of Rice that summer.
He is one of only three Arsenal players, along with Gabriel and William Saliba, to have started every one of those games but the only one whose arrival coincides with the improvement.
He has already proved a transformative addition and the hope for Arsenal now is that silverware will finally follow.
"It could be the start of something," Rice said of Sunday's Carabao Cup final this week. "It's the first trophy that is up for grabs. If you win that, the momentum that takes you forward is massive."
And Rice knows a thing or two about taking Arsenal forward.
Khusanov quicker than Van de Ven?
Manchester City will be missing the cup-tied centre-back Marc Guehi at Wembley. It is less than ideal for Pep Guardiola with Josko Gvardiol still sidelined, John Stones and Nathan Ake out of favour, and Ruben Dias only recently returned from injury.
But he can at least call on Abdukodir Khusanov. The 22-year-old has recovered from one of the most chastening Premier League debuts in recent memory against Chelsea last year to become one of the Premier League's best young defenders.
His individual performance against Real Madrid, and specifically Vinicius Junior, this week was just the latest to highlight his huge potential. Vinicius scored a penalty and added a second after a lapse from Guehi but he had little joy against Khusanov, whose explosive pace helped his team out of trouble more than once.
That task fell to Kyle Walker in previous years but Khusanov, signed from French side Lens 14 months ago, is similarly well-equipped for it. This season in the Premier League, he has clocked the highest top speed of any centre-back, including even Micky van de Ven.
Khusanov has shown impressive composure to go with his physical attributes. Against Real Madrid, he completed all but one of his 59 passes. An overall accuracy rate of 95.6 per cent in this season's Champions League puts him below only Bayern Munich's Jonathan Tah and Aleksandar Pavlovic.
Manchester City will need Khusanov to continue in the same vein against Arsenal, and this time hope for a better outcome. He looks primed to play a central role in their future.
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
Sunday's Carabao Cup final is the main event but there are crucial games in the Premier League relegation battle beforehand. Axel Disasi will be key for West Ham against Aston Villa having impressed since his January arrival on loan from Chelsea.
Live Radar: What's on Sky this weekend?
Bournemouth host Man Utd on Friday Night Football, with coverage starting at 7.30pm on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event before kick-off at 8pm.
Everton vs Chelsea and Leeds vs Brentford are both live on Saturday Night Football from 5pm on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, kicking off at 5.30pm and 8pm respectively.
Newcastle vs Sunderland, Aston Villa vs West Ham and Spurs vs Nottingham Forest are all live across Sky Sports before the Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Man City, which kicks off at 4.30pm on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event.
Did The Radar jinx Reece James? The Chelsea captain suffered a cruelly-timed hamstring injury after last week's column talked up his importance following his new contract. There was also a look at Newcastle's Lewis Hall.
