Rice got the winning goal late in the day but his overall performance was closer to that we have seen for West Ham down the years.
However, a lot of his settling in can be attributed to Mikel Arteta’s style and Rice has revealed how the Arsenal boss played a little trick on him as soon as he arrived.
Declan Rice says Mikel Arteta put a sticker on him on his first day at Arsenal
Speaking on the Tubes and Ange Golf Life channel, Rice was addressing a few things around his move to Arsenal.
And discussing his first day at his new club, Rice revealed that Arteta had collared him outside the medical room and made him wear a newbie sticker on his chest.
“I was a bit nervous. The first day I was down there on the Sunday, the lads weren’t in but I come out of the physio room and Arteta, just like little things he does, he put like a sticker on me saying ‘hello I’m the new person’. He just walked in and put it on my chest. All the 18s and 21s in the canteen and I’m walking through trying to hide my chest. Just little things like that,” Rice said.
Rice spoke highly of Arteta throughout the segment and clearly took this one in good jest.
The England man revealed he’d settled in quickly at London Colney thanks to relationships already in place with a number of Arsenal players.
A popular manager is big
Little things like this can make a big difference and for all the intensity we see Mikel Arteta delivering, it does seem like there’s a softer side to him as well.
For Arsenal and their young squad, having a manager like this will feel massive. Arteta always seems to have their back but he’s also willing to join in with some of the jokes as well.
Declan Rice is clearly impressed by Arteta and in the long-term, the England man should only go on and get even better under the Spaniard’s guidance.
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