Declan Rice was instrumental in Arsenal getting over the line to win the Premier League title last season.
During the game at the Etihad Stadium when Arsenal lost, he looked at the camera and said, ‘The title race is not over ’, and that is a real comment from a leader.
Rice’s leadership skills are textbook, as he has transformational and transactional leadership traits. Rice is one of the main reasons Arsenal won the league last season; his leadership skills were a major asset, especially when Odegaard was not in the team.
Rice galvanised the team in the second half of the season when things were not going well. The leadership of Rice is the reason why Arsenal might retain the title this season because Rice is known to put his arms around young players and seasoned players when they are not performing, and encourage and motivate them to raise their performance.
Without Rice last season, Arsenal would have bottled the league, and it would have ended the same way it did in previous seasons, when the team came second in the league.
Rice’s assists from corners made Arsenal undefendable, and every cross that Rice put in the six-yard box was going to be a goal for Arsenal.
Last season, it was very close between who would win the award for the Player of the Season, Rice or Bruno, and Bruno won this award, but Rice was not far from clinching this award.
If Rice retains the title and he puts in the same or similar performances as he did last season, Rice will definitely be the Player of the Season unless someone breaks a Premier League record again.