Declan Rice explains decision to join Arsenal
- Rice has finally sealed his British record move to Arsenal
- Arsenal fought off competition from across the Premier League
- Rice is keen to start work under Mikel Arteta
By Tom Gott
Declan Rice has admitted Arsenal's rebuilding project was too fascinating for him to turn down this summer.
After several years outside the top four, Mikel Arteta transformed Arsenal into Premier League title challengers last season, building a young squad which pushed eventual champions Manchester City right to the limit.
That story was not lost on Rice, who admitted the challenge of restoring Arsenal to their former glory had enormous appeal to him when deciding on his next destination.
"I’ve been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they’ve been going on. Not last season but the season before, they finished fifth but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing," Rice explained to Arsenal media. "Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Man City.
"With Mikel and how he works, the squad, how young everyone is, the energy around the club and also the challenge of getting Arsenal back to where they belong, that means a lot to me. I know the fans really want that. For me as a player, I’ve come here really hungry to have more success and to spend my best years at this great club."
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Rice also admitted that he sees Arteta as the best manager for him at this point in his career.
"I’m so excited - he speaks for himself," Rice said of his new manager. "You see how he works - you got a real insight into how he works on the Amazon documentary, how he works with his players and not only as a coach, but psychologically how good he is with players, how he improves players. He’s a massive factor in the reason why I’ve come here.
"I know he’s going to get the best out of me. I know I’ve got more levels to go up in my game, and I feel like he’s the manager to take me to those next levels. I’m really excited to be working with him."
In a parting message to supporters, Rice added: "I just want to say it’s an absolute privilege to be a part of Arsenal Football Club. The history and the players that have played here speak for themselves. And now I have joined, we’ve got some other signings as well, we are looking to get Arsenal back to the big time, back to winning stuff.
"You’ve seen over the past few years how well this squad has been with the manager and there is a real feel-good factor around the place. So I’m hungry, I’m ready and I’m going to give everything for this club like I do week in, week out. We’re going to be on some journey, so I’m looking forward to it."
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