Martin Odegaard is relieved he no longer has to play against Declan Rice (Picture: Getty)

Martin Odegaard is relieved he no longer has to play against Declan Rice after Arsenal smashed their transfer record to secure the signing of the England international.

Mikel Arteta identified the now former West Ham midfielder as his No.1 summer transfer target as far back as January and a protracted saga finally came to its conclusion last week.

Rice is now in line to make his debut against MLS All-Stars tonight and Odegaard is delighted he will be able to count on the support of the all-action midfielder, rather than oppose him in the heat of a Premier League midfield battle.

‘Every time I played against him I saw the quality,’ said Odegaard when asked about his experiences of playing against Rice.

‘He’s a leader as well so it’s great for me to work together and hopefully we can help each other a lot.

‘Every time I played him it was a tough one. We had some tough battles so I’m happy to have him on the team and hopefully we can find a good connection very quickly.’

Rice is not the only new addition to an Arsenal squad that will be hoping to go one better than last year when the finished as runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier Leauge.

Declan Rice could make his Arsenal debut against MLS All-Stars (Picture: Getty)

Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz will add quality and versatility to Arteta’s side and Odegaard is ready to play a key role in their integration.

‘I try to speak to them to see if they need something or if I need to explain something to them on the pitch about how we do things,’ said the Arsenal captain.Just making sure that they feel welcome and to help them understand our game model.

‘I think when players come in it can be tricky to understand everything we do so just helping them with small things but I think this team is great at welcoming new players. We’re like a family, we’re really together. I feel like they’re happy and part of the team and the family already.’

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Rice, meanwhile, did not take part in last night’s All-Star Skills Challenge as Arteta looks to ease the 24-year-old in slowly.

‘We just wanted to manage him,’ said Arteta yesterday. ‘A lot has happened to him in the last five or six days, a very hectic schedule.

‘He had a few training sessions that were really good, but prior to that he didn’t do much before he joined us. So we wanted to just manage him. He trained today with us, he was in good form and he’s fine.’

MORE : Wayne Rooney says Declan Rice is a ‘huge signing’ for Arsenal and a ‘future captain’

MORE : Barcelona in talks to sign Arsenal midfielder Miguel Azeez for their B team

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‘Every time I played against him I saw the quality.’