Declan Rice has admitted that he’s ‘already seeing football in a completely different way’ since completing his record-breaking £105million switch to Arsenal from West Ham.
It’s been just over two weeks since Declan Rice joined Arsenal, but he’s already feeling major tactical differences under Mikel Arteta.
The midfielder joined from West Ham for a fee of £105million, making him the Gunners’ most expensive player of all time.
Having battled long and hard with Manchester City for the Premier League title last term, Rice’s arrival at the Emirates could be key in Arteta’s side going one step further in their quest for the title this season.
Since joining, Rice has already made two pre-season appearances for the club, one as a substitute in the 5-0 win over the MLS All Stars, and one as a starter in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Declan Rice makes his Arsenal debut. ✅ pic.twitter.com/vkHvhJJjU6
— AFCnewsroom (@TheAFCnewsroom) July 20, 2023
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And on the Gunners’ pre-season tour of the United States, Rice sat down with Sky Sports News in Los Angeles, where he revealed how different playing under Arteta is compared to how it was at West Ham and how he will likely need time to adapt to Arsenal’s style of play.
“It’s crazy. It’s honestly crazy. I’m already seeing football in a completely different way. You think you know football growing up and when you play, but when you meet managers like Mikel, you realise you don’t really know anything about football. There are different styles and different ways of playing that I’ve never experienced before.
“Of course, the way I played at West Ham is completely different to the way Mikel plays, so it’s going to take some time to adapt. But I’m really eager to learn to improve, to ask questions, to do one-to-one training to improve and try and get it as quickly as possible.
“Hopefully once all that starts to click, Arsenal will be amazing. And of course I want to go up a few levels as well, which I know I can. So yeah, it’s really important that I adapt.”
🗣️ “It’s crazy. I’m already seeing football in a completely different way. You think you know football when you’re growing up and when you play but when you meet managers like Mikel [Arteta], you realise you don’t really know anything.”
Declan Rice on Mikel Arteta. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/O16lflUSGR
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 26, 2023
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