Declan Rice joined Arsenal in the summer transfer window from West Ham for at the time what seemed like an astounding amount of money and became an in-club record transfer for Arsenal, joining the club for £100M + £5M in add ons.
At the time of the transfer it left Arsenal fans and really the world shocked at his price tag and created a sense of worry around Rice and if he would be able to live up to the price tag and weirdly for such a huge transfer fee, it’s hardly been talked about. Mainly due to the fact Rice has truly hit the ground running at Arsenal and has been outstanding since joining the red and the white of London.
Spending a lot of his career at boyhood club West Ham, it seemed only logical that Rice would end up getting the chance to come to a “bigger” side and prove himself, and he’s done just that. Since joining Arsenal he’s looked incredible on the ball and has really solidified our midfield. He brings the best out of his teammates and looks to be a born leader on the pitch. A very humble guy for the amount of talent that oozes out of him and looks to be the perfect fit for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, and has proved to Arsenal fans just why we were willing to pay so much.
Rice was asked about the pressure of having such a high price tag in a pre-match interview before England’s game against North Macedonia on Monday night and said this “it’s £100 million, it’s a lot of money, I could understand the pressure that comes with it. Not only the pressure you put on yourself but there’s an expectation of being bought for that much money”.
“People need to see performances straight away. I want to repay the club straight away, they have invested a lot of money in me, I need to prove why I can go there and change things”.“When the transfer was going through, I was very nervous because of the price tag. It’s natural to think about that. You’re a human being bought for £105 million, it doesn’t feel very normal”.
“But that was because of what I’d done at West Ham, what they valued me at. When I signed for Arsenal I just thought, “I just need to be Declan Rice”, be myself, don’t be any different and everything will go smoothly”.
And I personally must agree with him. Obviously, there was some added pressure on his shoulders after being so expensive, but he’s really come into what looks like his best form. Working under Arteta seems to be bringing the best out of him. Although it was a lot of money, it seems to been worth every penny.
I think he has handled the pressure perfectly. What’s your thoughts Gooners?
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