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Declan Rice ‘blown away’ by Mikel Arteta and reveals biggest shock since joining Arsenal.
Declan Rice has discussed his biggest surprise since joining Arsenal and claims to have been ‘blown away’ by Mikel Arteta, the team’s manager.
When Rice completed a £105 million transfer from West Ham earlier this summer, he set two records: he became Arsenal’s most expensive signing and one of the most costly purchases in Premier League history.
After leading West Ham to victory in the Europa Conference League last season, the England player will try to help Arsenal win some hardware this year.
Declan Rice has revealed his biggest shock since joining Arsenal and says he has been ‘blown away’ by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
Rice became Arsenal’s record signing and one of the most expensive purchases in Premier League history when he completed a £105m move from West Ham earlier in the summer.
The England star will look to help Arsenal win some silverware this season after captaining West Ham to Europa Conference League glory last term.
Rice says he is already ‘seeing the game in a completely different way’ since working with Arteta and admits he has been ‘shocked’ by the winning mentality at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal almost won the Premier League for the first time since 2004 last season, amassing 84 points to finish narrowly behind Manchester City.
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‘In the last four weeks, I’ve grown so much already and learned so much about football that I hadn’t seen before,’ Rice told TNT Sports.
‘I’m honestly seeing the game in a completely different way already. Tactically, on the ball, off the ball. I’m happy to know I’m learning so much because I’m trying to push myself to learn.
‘Since the Community Shield, I feel I’ve taken a big step; everything is starting to click. I was blown away by Arteta] and working with him day-to-day, it’s just another level.
‘Seeing how he works, how his mind operates, picking up stuff, seeing how he goes into detail on the opposition, and how he wants to improve us as players, individually and collectively, is really impressive.
‘It’s just the finer details of what he goes into, so there are no excuses on matchday. You can’t say, “we’ve not worked on this or that”.
‘You’re given everything and it’s literally down to you to go and perform. The finer details you go into are on another level, and I’ve never seen that before.
‘From the moment I walked in the door, the thing that shocked me most is how much [winning] is drilled into the club, and the way the manager is drilling it into the players about winning, and not being far off being one of the best teams in the world.
‘That’s what excites me and that’s why I came to Arsenal; to win things, to play under Mikel, and play with these players. It’s such an exciting project to join.’
In the Community Shield title game last weekend, Rice made his first official Arsenal appearance as Arteta’s team defeated Manchester City on penalties.
The Gunners host Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday to open their 2023–24 Premier League season.
The identical starting lineup from the Community Shield final might be used by Arsenal, with fellow summer acquisition Kai Havertz replacing the injured Gabriel Jesus up front.