After a slow start to the season that saw them just edge past Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace before drawing at home to Fulham, Arsenal have managed to fight their way to the top of the Premier League table.
Their last-gasp win over Luton Town on Tuesday and Manchester City's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on Wednesday means that the Gunners go into this weekend's action six points clear of the treble-winners in fourth place.
The whole squad seems to have gone up a few gears in recent weeks – well, maybe not between the sticks – but if there is one player who has come to define this new, more mature version of Arsenal more than any other, it is Declan Rice.
The all-action midfielder has arguably been Mikel Arteta's best player this season, and so fans should be excited to hear that the club could sign him a new partner that he described only last month as "one of the best professionals I've ever seen", in the form Kalvin Phillips.
Arsenal transfer news – Kalvin Phillips
According to reports from Spain (via CaughtOffside), Arsenal are interested in adding some more tenacity and solidity to their midfield in 2024 as they look to press on with their title challenge, and the Manchester City midfielder is on their radar of potential recruits.
The defending champions signed the 28-year-old from Leeds United in the summer of 2022 for a fee of around £45m, but since then, he has only started five games across all competitions and come off the bench just 24 times, per Transfermarkt.
Not much has been said about how much a deal for the England international would cost, but with how City have sold in the past and Arsenal's new position as a direct rival with them, it would be surprising to see him leave for less than what they paid to sign him in the first place.
That price might shock some, especially given his apparent unimportance to the club, but Phillips is still an incredibly talented player.
While things haven't necessarily worked out for him at the Etihad, he was a "machine", as described by journalist Jordan Campbell when playing for the Whites and England.
Rice and Phillips could replicate their England partnership for Arsenal
It would be a bit of a fib to try and suggest that the former Leeds captain has been anywhere near his impressive best – when he plays, that is – since joining Pep Guardiola's side last summer. In fact, he hasn't really done anything of note for the Cityzens, but in the white of England, he is a different player entirely.
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Despite suffering from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss 18 games for club and country last season and barely playing for the club when he is fit, Phillips has still been a regular in Gareth Southgate's squads and has started almost as many games for the Three Lions as he has for City.
The England manager clearly sees his partnership with Rice as one of the team's bright spots, telling the press in October: "I don't see a better player in England to do that job in a double-pivot with Declan Rice."
Southgate certainly seems to be on to something as the pair started every game together at Euro 2020, when England made it all the way to the final, only losing thanks to a dreaded penalty shootout.
And if that isn't enough to convince you that the Gunners should look into rekindling their partnership at the Emirates, maybe an endorsement from Spanish legend and Barcelona manager Xavi will, as when talking about the pair, he said: "I have also been hugely impressed by the two midfielders, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips. I did not know them that well, but they were superb."
That was also followed by praise from former Three Lions boss Fabio Capello, who described the pair as "two phenomenal players" amid that surge to the showpiece at Wembley just over two years ago.
If the duo can play a crucial role in England's greatest tournament since 1966 and impress the likes of Xavi and Capello along the way, Arteta should be able to get them working like clockwork at the heart of Arsenal's midfield.