Declan Rice: Arsenal's Midfield Revolution and Ballon d'Or Aspirations

Declan Rice stands at the heart of a revolution at Emirates Stadium, but talk of a Golden Ball in 2026 still feels a step ahead of schedule for some of the game’s sharpest judges.

The Arsenal midfielder has just driven Mikel Arteta’s side to a landmark Premier League title, ending a 22-year wait and dragging the trophy back to north London. He didn’t just slot in. He took charge. Week after week, he patrolled the middle of the pitch, knitting together a team that finally looked ready to turn potential into medals.

Arsenal paid a then British record £105 million for him in 2023, a fee that arrived with pressure, scrutiny and a hundred think pieces about value. Rice answered them on the grass. Almost ever-present, he became the metronome and the muscle in Arteta’s engine room, one of the final pieces in a jigsaw the club had been trying to complete for years.

Now comes the next stage.

England, still chasing a first major trophy since 1966, will lean heavily on him in North America this summer. If Arsenal’s title was a statement, a global crown with the Three Lions would be a roar. Lift that, and Rice’s name would surge up the Ballon d’Or conversation, especially after the sting of Champions League final disappointment at club level.

That’s the theory. Not everyone is ready to crown him.

Robbie Fowler, a former England striker and Liverpool legend, sees the quality, the growth, the authority. He also sees the gap. When Rice is mentioned in the same breath as Steven Gerrard, Fowler draws a clear line.

“I like Declan Rice,” he said, speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of BetMGM. The compliment came with a challenge. Gerrard, the former England captain and Liverpool icon, finished third in the 2005 Ballon d’Or voting. That is the standard Fowler uses as a reference point.

“I think when we talk about Declan Rice and how good he is, you compare him, obviously, to the likes of Stevie G. If I'm being honest, I don't think he's Steven's level. That's not me being all Liverpool. I think Declan Rice, since he's gone to Arsenal, he has become a more complete player. But I don't think he's the level that Steven Gerrard is just yet. Look, Steven Gerrard never won the Ballon d'Or.”

The message is blunt: being a dominant Premier League midfielder is one thing; breaking into the “best on the planet” bracket is something else entirely.

“It is what it is in terms of his performances. He's been great for Arsenal and he's obviously gone up a notch. But I think he needs to go up another notch, if I'm being genuine in terms of his performances. It does sound like I'm having a little bit of a go, but I'm not. I think Declan Rice is a fantastic player, but I don't think he's on the realms of the Ballon d'Or list just yet.”

Recent history backs up that view. In the 2025 Ballon d’Or vote, Rice came in 27th. Respectable, but nowhere near the podium. At that point he had not yet lifted major silverware with Arsenal, and global observers judged him accordingly.

That context has changed. He now has a Premier League title on his CV and came agonisingly close to a remarkable double, pushing Arsenal towards a season that would have redefined the club’s modern era. The margins were thin, the impact unmistakable.

The debate, though, is not about whether Rice is important. It’s about ceiling.

The Kingston upon Thames native has never pretended he already belongs in Gerrard’s bracket. By all accounts, he is self-aware, grounded, and realistic about where he sits in the game’s hierarchy. The intention, though, is crystal clear: he wants to climb those rungs, to live in the company of the greats rather than just be compared to them.

That next leap will likely be decided on the biggest stages: deep in the Champions League, and in the knockout rounds of major tournaments with England. If he turns decisive nights into his own platform, the Golden Ball talk will no longer feel premature.

For now, Rice arrives at this summer’s international showpiece as a champion of England, a leader without the armband, and a midfielder still chasing Gerrard’s shadow.

How long that shadow looms over him will define the shape of his prime.