You may know that 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. What you may not know is the other 29 per cent is covered by Declan Rice.
At least that is how it felt watching him man West Ham’s midfield last season, and that is what Arsenal are now spending a minimum £100million to secure for themselves.
They are signing a forever-fit (Rice has played at least 80 per cent of the possible top-flight minutes in each of the past five seasons), never-still 24-year-old whose speciality is being in the right place at the right time: to win the ball cleanly and to carry it forward at speed.
Now that West Ham and Arsenal are in agreement over the price — with talks progressing over the structure of payments — Mikel Arteta can start to look at how he can utilise Rice.
When staring at his whiteboard — a staple of any Premier League manager’s office — there is an obvious space where Rice’s magnet should be placed.
Declan Rice now looks set to join Arsenal after the Gunners agreed a price with West Ham
Rice has played at least 80 per cent of the possible top-flight minutes in each of the past five seasons
Mikel Arteta is now able to start to think about how he will utilise the 24-year-old in his midfield
It is at the heart of the team in lieu of Thomas Partey, who is being linked with a move away from Arsenal.
At No 6, Rice will be on permanent patrol. There to break up any counter-attacks if and when his team-mates lose possession higher up the pitch. There to predict the next pass. There to pounce.
There to take it forward through the lines. There to hand it over to Martin Odegaard or Kai Havertz — the two advanced No 8s who could sit either side of him — or use his underrated passing range to play in Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli.
It will allow Arsenal to turn defence into attack in an instant; a quick transition which takes them from being in danger to being dangerous.
West Ham benefitted from this last season, with Rice making more interceptions than any other player in the Premier League (he was top with 63, next up was Brighton’s Moises Caicedo with 56) and his box-to-box movement making them a threat when they won possession.
As well as breaking up play, Rice will be expected to power forward. He was 25th in the Premier League last season in progressive carries and when you think that category pits him against wingers such as Jack Grealish, Saka, Martinelli and Kaoru Mitoma, it is an impressive statistic.
It will be intriguing to see how Arteta uses him in possession. Full backs Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White — or Jurrien Timber if Arsenal sign him from Ajax — are adept at moving into midfield.
Whether Rice will be told to take up more advanced positions when that happens, or hold the fort as the nightwatchman, we do not yet know.
It will be intriguing to see how Arteta utilises the England international when in possession
Arsenal’s midfield impressed last term as they challenged for the title but both Granit Xhaka (left) and Thomas Partey (right) have been linked with moves away
Rice will also need to be prepared to receive the ball from Gabriel (left) and William Saliba (centre)
Certainly he will be needed when playing out from the back. At West Ham, Rice never shied away from receiving the ball from centre backs Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma. They played more passes into him than anyone else.
At Arsenal, he will have to make himself available to William Saliba and Gabriel before turning into the space or finding someone further forward.
Rice has discussed his desire to improve his attacking output while at West Ham. But primarily, as someone who plays like he has a crystal ball tucked in his sock, his role is to predict and prevent.
Much like he did when pinching possession off Partey at the London Stadium in April — which kickstarted a West Ham comeback in a 2-2 draw which was a killer blow to Arsenal’s title hopes.
Ability-wise, it is easy to see why Arsenal have pushed so intensely for this England international, so much so they are ready to break the record for a British player.
He is an upgrade on Partey, both in a defensive and attacking sense, and only Manchester City’s Rodri can threaten his status as the Premier League’s best defensive midfielder.
Only Manchester City’s Rodri (pictured) can challenge his status as the league’s best defensive midfielder
The 24-year-old is thought to be a brilliant presence inside the dressing-room – an important metric
Yet there are other areas to consider. Arsenal have long been accused of lacking leadership but, at 24, Rice led West Ham to the Europa Conference League trophy in his first season as club captain after Mark Noble’s retirement.
It may not show up on many football metrics but according to all those who know him, Rice is a good character; someone you want in your dressing room.
West Ham realise they are losing a special player and person.
Some may say Rice is not worth £100m-plus, but he is to Arsenal in their pursuit of a first Premier League title since 2004.
