Previously, Man City left the race to sign the English midfielder after Arsenal offered £105 million because they thought such a price was too unreasonable.
When West Ham manager David Moyes was recently asked if Declan Rice was worth £100m, he simply said: "Yes." "I think I've said everything I need to say about Declan. He's a really important player for West Ham, he's someone we rate very highly and you can see what he means to the team," he added.
Moyes's assessment of Rice was somewhat subjective, while Brentford boss Thomas Frank suggested his own Ivan Toney would be worth more than Rice, while Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva also questioned Rice's price tag. "Usually you see this price for strikers, not central midfielders. It feels quite high, although there is no doubt about the quality of the player," said the 2002 World Cup winner who helped Arsenal win the 2003-04 title.
During his time with West Ham and England, Rice played as a deep-lying playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 formation or as a holding midfielder in a midfield three.
Since Rice started out as a centre-back, the 24-year-old midfielder's ability to recover the ball and intercept is undeniable.
Last season, the 24-year-old midfielder made more recoveries than any other Premier League player, with 334, putting him ahead of Man City's Rodri in second place. Declan Rice was also good at intercepting, making 63 successful interceptions, more than any other player last season.
Rice's passing skills have also improved significantly in recent seasons as in addition to his ability to recover the ball and intercept, Rice is also able to link the midfield with the front line and launch attacks with mid-range and long-range passes.
Rice's dribbling has also improved, with the midfielder averaging 1.13 dribbles per 90 minutes last season. Only three players - Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk and Manchester City duo Rodri and Jack Grealish - can dribble further than Rice's 7.1km. Arsenal's Saka is fifth with 6.8km.
In the 2022-2023 season, Rice scored a total of 5 goals and 4 assists after 55 appearances for West Ham, quite good statistics for a central midfielder; contributing to bringing the London club its first European championship trophy in decades.
Importantly, Declan Rice is under 25 years old, has a lot of potential to develop and fits the trend of rejuvenation, playing fast but technical football of Coach Arteta at Arsenal. Young but the English midfielder has more than 200 appearances in the Premier League as well as experience in major international arenas and is a pillar of the young England team.
Furthermore, Rice is also one of the handsome stars and has a less controversial life off the field, suitable for him to become a brand ambassador or face for brands when Arsenal is making a strong comeback.
Therefore, it is understandable why coach Artera is eager to have him in the first team after Xhaka moved to Bundesliga, Partey is likely to move to Saudi Arabia and Jorginho is old and only a temporary solution. In the future, Rice can become not only the leader in the midfield but also the captain of Arsenal when the "gunners" build a team aiming for titles but still maintaining its identity with a framework of domestic players who have grown up from domestic training centers such as Saka (21 years old), goalkeeper Ramsdale (25 years old), Rice (grown up from West Ham, trained by Chelsea).
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