Rice becomes the most expensive English player of all time.
Arsenal have announced the signing of England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for a club record fee of £105 million.
The fee also sees Rice become the most expensive English player of all time, beating out the previous record set by Jack Grealish’s transfer to Manchester City two summers ago.
The 24-year-old arrives in North London having already made 204 Premier League appearances in the claret of West Ham, and fresh off the back of steering the Irons to Europa Conference League glory.
Beating off reported competition from the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Mikel Arteta has managed to convince the Arsenal board that Rice is the missing piece of the puzzle as he attempts to usurp Pep Guardiola’s side this season.
Announcing the video via a livestream of a team meeting from Arsenal’s London Colney training ground, Rice was unveiled much to the delight of Arsenal fans across the globe.
With 4 million views within the first 30 mins of tweeting Rice’s arrival, the capture of the West Ham captain’s signature has sent social media into a frenzy.
A new chapter begins. pic.twitter.com/ha5Btd8I2h
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 15, 2023
Declan Rice reveals delight at joining Gunners:
Speaking in his welcome interview as an Arsenal player, Rice said;
“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”.
Rice went on to add his delight at linking up with manager Mikel Arteta, who according to reports, was pivotal in securing his services;
“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”.
The 43-time capped England international becomes the Gunners’ third signing of the summer transfer window, following the arrivals of Kai Havertz from Chelsea and Jurrien Timber from Ajax.
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