Arsenal hero Ian Wright believes the Gunners “robbed” West Ham in the transfer market when they signed England midfielder Declan Rice from the Hammers for an initial £100million in the summer. Rice moved to the Emirates Stadium following a decade in east London and has already proven to be an influential player for Mikel Arteta’s side.
“It’s the physicality and fluidity of him”, Wright explained on Wrighty’s House as he spoke about Rice. “He looks strong – we just look different with him. I love Martin [Odegaard], and he’s our captain – and I’m very happy, absolutely delighted with that.
“But when you have a player who’s [an] eight or nine out of 10 every week – leading by example with everything that he does – you can’t help but think, ‘that guy is a captain’. That guy is a captain in the way he’s playing. And I’m not being biased or anything, but I was speaking to a couple of West Ham fans recently, and I wind them up all the time.
“I said, ‘I feel like we robbed you, I feel like we should give you an extra £20million. I’m going to give you an extra £20million because it’s making me feel guilty that we’ve only got him for £100million’.
“Since Declan Rice really kicked on with West Ham and got into the England squad, I cannot remember him having a bad game. Every single game he’s doing something of note, he’s affecting the game. I think, without a doubt, he’s the major difference for us this season.”
Rice featured 245 times for the West Ham first team after being released by the Chelsea academy as a teenager. He became an England regular during his time at London Stadium and captained the Hammers to the Europa Conference League trophy last season as they defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in the final.
Ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Lens on Wednesday evening, Rice had made 19 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions. The 24-year-old has started all of his team’s Premier League and Champions League encounters this season and has bagged two goals and an assist.
“I’ve been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they’ve been going on”, Rice told the Arsenal website after joining the club. “For me as a player, I’ve come here really hungry to have more success and to spend my best years at this great club.”
