Mikel Arteta and Edu are thrilled with their new signing Declan Rice (Photo: Getty)
Mikel Arteta and Edu have hailed Arsenal’s new ‘fantastic’ signing Declan Rice after he completed his record-breaking transfer.
On Saturday, Declan officially joined Arsenal from West Ham for a fee of £105million, making him the most expensive British player of all-time and the most expensive in the club’s history.
The Gunners fought off strong interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Manchester City to sign the England midfielder who was one of the most sought after players in the world.
‘Declan is a player with fantastic ability and a proven record at both club and international levels,’ Sporting Director Edu told Arsenal.com.
‘The process of this transfer has been a big team effort with a clear plan, and we are so happy that Declan is joining us.
‘Declan is a high-quality, young international player who will add great strength to our squad, fitting so well into our strategy of competing with young talented players at the centre of our club.
‘It’s great that Declan will be joining up with Mikel, our coaches and his new teammates in good time ahead of the new season.’
Declan Rice has joined Arsenal in a deal worth £105m (Photo: Getty)
Arteta added: ‘We’re really happy that Declan is joining us. He is a player with tremendous ability, who has been performing at a high level in the Premier League and for England for a number of seasons now.
‘Declan is bringing undoubted quality to the club and he is an exceptional talent who has the potential to be very successful here.
‘Declan has great experience in the Premier League at only 24 years old. He has captained a very good West Ham team and as we all saw, he recently lifted a European trophy.
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‘The responsibility and role he has taken on has been very impressive and we are really excited that he is joining us.’
It has also been confirmed that Rice will wear the No.41 shirt for his new club, just as he did throughout his West Ham career.
The 24-year-old’s departure from the Irons was confirmed last night, though the east London side neglected to mention he was signing for Arsenal, seemingly out of frustration for how long the deal has taken.
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‘The process of this transfer has been a big team effort with a clear plan.’
