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Declan Rice speaks out Mason Mount’s decision to sign for Manchester United.
Declan Rice has said that his close buddy Mason Mount is overjoyed to have joined Manchester United, but that he had no influence on the midfielder’s choice to leave Chelsea.
Mount’s dramatic departure from Stamford Bridge was confirmed earlier this month, following a protracted contract squabble that resulted in his choice to join United.
Many expected the England internationals to create a long-term combination at Chelsea, with Rice frequently linked with a return to West London during his spell at West Ham.
Circumstances, however, dictated that both players lined up on opposing sides for their respective teams last Saturday, when United defeated Arsenal 2-0 in respective York.
‘I read loads of bits that said me and him were speaking saying that we’d always end up at the same club but it wasn’t like that at all,’ Rice told ESPN.
‘I’ve got to do what’s best for my career, Mase has got to do what’s best for his career.
‘We never really had that chat, I know he was going through a tough time at Chelsea with a few thing and of course I was there for him and he was there for me, but obviously my situation was very different compared to his.
‘We support each other we are very happy for each other. I spoke to him the other night after the game, he’s so happy to be at United and I’m so happy to be here at Arsenal.’
While Saturday’s loss in New York was discouraging for Arsenal’s revamped midfield, Mikel Arteta maintains that Rice, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard have the physicality needed to succeed in the Premier League.
Arteta said: ‘We’re going to have to find the right balance as well, but a year ago Granit could never play that as an attacking midfielder. So let’s try to get the work done. It’s the first time we played with four players inside, and three of them had never played for us.
‘So three out of four, they never played together ever. So, tranquilo! Day-by-day, keep doing the right things, give people opportunity to settle them into the right things and we will be fine. You use a word that is ‘physical’. So if I put Granit and Kai and I ask you who is more physical? What would you say?
‘Kai is one metre 91, so it depends what you mean physical. Physical is (also) to run, running behind the forward, to tackle. It depends. So we will fit in with the qualities that we have, that’s for sure.
‘And the good thing is that we have options as well. When we have a game that is more physical, we can become very physical as well. We have the right options.’