‘I couldn’t believe’: Alan Pardew stunned 24-year-old is at Arsenal now
Declan Rice has been superb for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal this season following his move from West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
Just as we expected, Declan Rice has hit the ground running at Arsenal and has established himself as an important player in manager Mikel Arteta’s system.
Rice is already one of the first names on the Arsenal teamsheet.
Former West Ham manager Alan Pardew has been hugely impressed by how well Rice has done for Arsenal this season.
The talkSPORT pundit is also surprised that Arsenal were able to sign the 24-year-old.
Arsenal paid an initial transfer fee of £100 million to West Ham for Rice in the summer transfer window.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said last week that he wanted to sign the England international midfielder, but Arsenal “pushed” harder for a deal to get done.
Alan Pardew on Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice
Pardew said on talkSPORT (7:17pm, October 8, 2023): “I said on this show.
“He had all the attributes to go anywhere.
“I couldn’t believe Arsenal went, in my opinion, I don’t know if they had a free run at him because you never know what’s going on in the background, but that was perhaps the signing other than perhaps of Maddison, another English player who has been absolutely terrific this year for Spurs.”
My View: Declan Rice and Arsenal are perfect for each other
In my opinion, Declan Rice and Arsenal are perfect for each other.
Arsenal needed a player like Rice to get to the next level.
And, Rice needed Arsenal to take the next step in his career.
Arsenal are aiming to win the Premier League title this season as well as make an impact in the UEFA Champions League.
Rice has made 212 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career.
The midfielder has scored 11 goals and given 10 assists in those games.
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