Adrien Rabiot insists France’s squad has the attacking tools to play more forward than usual, but he also echoes Arsène Wenger’s warning about becoming offensively unbalanced. With Didier Deschamps in his final World Cup tournament as manager, Rabiot describes
When France talk about the summer ahead, the conversation starts with how it will look on the pitch. Adrien Rabiot puts it plainly: “Naturally, it seems a bit more attacking than usual.” He believes it’s not just wishful thinking. “I think it is good because we have the players for it.”
Lucas Hernández goes further. describing France as having “the best attack in the world.” Rayan Cherki frames it as a mission—“crushing” opponents at the World Cup. And Rabiot insists there is depth behind the idea: “I think that we have one of the most well-equipped teams in an attacking sense. We have real threats from the start but also from the bench and that is very important in a World Cup … it is great to have all of this quality.”.
Yet the buzz around a sharper, more aggressive France comes with a warning that Rabiot doesn’t brush aside. Arsène Wenger cautions that “the danger is becoming a bit offensively unbalanced.” Rabiot shares that sentiment. and he expects his own part to be tied to the fix—not by stealing the spotlight. but by keeping the machine working.
This summer’s shape has a clear reason. In his final tournament as Les Bleus’ manager, Didier Deschamps has taken nine forwards. That includes a new “Fab Four”: the captain. Kylian Mbappé; Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé; Michael Olise; and Rayan Cherki. Deschamps has also brought Désiré Doué. Bradley Barcola. Maghnes Akliouche. Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marcus Thuram—players that Rabiot describes as an attacking armada.
The aim, Deschamps says, is to be “less predictable, less readable”. But Wenger’s concern—and Rabiot’s response—hinge on what comes after the first wave of pressure. In Rabiot’s telling, balance isn’t a slogan; it’s a job.
“I have spoken with the manager and my role on the pitch with France is different to that which I have at Milan [where he is a box-to-box player]. At this level, balance plays a big part.”
Rabiot’s task is mostly about enabling others to do what they do best. “We all have a role. You have to be humble about that,” he says. “I try to do my work as well as possible to allow the players in front and behind to perform as well as possible … attackers and goalscorers are valued more than midfielders or defenders. There is no problem about that.”.
For some players, that kind of role can feel invisible. For Rabiot, it’s familiar in a different way—one N’Golo Kanté knows intimately. “There are players who play an important role but who are maybe promoted less. That’s the case for N’Golo. He gives everything when he’s on the pitch. Even if he isn’t always the best player. he is someone who has that desire. that determination to give everything.”.
At 35, Kanté is rarely a starter now, but that doesn’t change the value Rabiot attributes to him. “He is a very important player in the team,” Rabiot says. The wider point is that defensive responsibility can’t be handed to a few specialists anymore. “Nowadays, it can’t just be nine or 10 players defending. You need everyone. You’ve seen it recently in the Champions League. Those that make the effort, all together, go furthest. We need a whole team that knows how to attack and knows how to defend. That’s modern football. You have to recognise that,” he adds.
Rabiot then explains what that looks like for him. He talks about “accompanying” the attackers, “providing a link between the attack and defence,” and giving players “freedom”. The distinction matters to him: “a facilitator more than simply a compensator. the difference is subtle but important.” If Deschamps has released the handbrake. Rabiot frames himself as the steadying force. “If Deschamps has released the handbrake, Rabiot is there to keep control of the car.”.
To back up the idea that the team is actually ready to carry it out. Rabiot points to what he says is happening around the training ground. He’s noticed “this freshness. this technique. this enthusiasm. ” and he links it directly to the squad’s ability to last through the tournament. “What makes this squad work well is the ability to be able to express oneself. Everyone has free rein to [show] their talent. In training, we really have a great time together, and that is the most important thing in a long competition.”.
France’s base in Boston is not expected to be a quick stop. Les Bleus have been to the past two finals. Rabiot was left out in 2018, but he was involved in the defeat against Argentina in Qatar in 2022. “Since then, we have wanted revenge,” he says.
He also believes the payoff would mean something beyond the trophy. Winning in North America would be “a beautiful homage” to Deschamps, whose post ends at the end of the tournament. Rabiot insists he is “very close” to Deschamps, despite the omission from the 2018 World Cup squad. He was selected as a reserve for the tournament in Russia, but he refused the position.
That refusal became part of the story of his return. More than two years passed before the next call-up. When Rabiot came back in September 2020, he became “an ever-present.” Of the players in the current squad, only Mbappé and Kanté have played more matches during Deschamps’ reign.
Even a disruptive moment at Marseille at the start of the season didn’t break that trust. Rabiot was cast out at Marseille after a dressing-room incident with his teammate Jonathan Rowe. but he was still selected by Deschamps. Deschamps said at the time: “I’m taking him for who he is. what he has done with us and what he can bring us. It is always good for him to be with us.”.
Rabiot remembers the message in simple terms. “The manager has given us a lot,” he says. “For the most part, he has selected us often; he has shown confidence in us in the big competitions – it is obviously an objective for us to pay him back for that.”
Deschamps, in a recent interview, expressed a lack of interest in notions of “legacy” and perception as he heads into his swan song. That idea doesn’t land the same way for Rabiot. “You always want to finish on a good note; it is the image that you leave that lingers longest in the mind.“
“I think, in France, people don’t realise what the France national team has achieved in these past few years. I think people abroad are more admiring, quite simply because they want it to happen to them.”
He adds that the conversation about success should be rooted in results rather than comfort. “And I think that if they had a manager like Deschamps. who has had as many results as he has. they would be extremely happy. I don’t think you should get used to [the levels of success] because it isn’t normal … sometimes we have highlighted how things happened too much instead of looking at what actually happened.”.
There’s a line that sums up the whole picture: substance over style. Deschamps has built an era around it, and Rabiot—one of his most trusted pieces—has learned to embody it without making it about himself. “Leave the style to the attackers, Rabiot is simply there to facilitate it.”
France Adrien Rabiot Didier Deschamps World Cup Kylian Mbappé Ousmane Dembélé Michael Olise Rayan Cherki Fab Four Lucas Hernández Arsène Wenger N’Golo Kanté Milan Boston base revenge for 2022 Argentina Marseille Jonathan Rowe incident