Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta has admitted he was “mad” about signing Declan Rice from West Ham in the summer.
Rice arrived at the Emirates for a fee around £105million.
The England midfielder is now the most expensive player in the Gunners’ history.
On Wednesday night, he will face his former club for the first time in the Premier League.
Since signing for Arsenal, Rice has consistently put in great performances and Arteta says he was desperate to sign him.
Arteta said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “I love his presence on the pitch. He’s there and he’s got something special.
“I felt it when I played against him, that’s why I was mad to sign him. You get a feeling about players and I wanted him to be part of our team.”
A common theme in Arteta’s quotes on Rice is his understanding of how much pressure the 24-year-old has on his shoulders due to the amount of money that was spent on him.
The Spaniard said that the England international has handled the pressure in the finest manner possible as he stated the following:
“When they put you with that price tag, you have to carry that and it is not easy. I think he has done it in a brilliant way. He is a really humble guy and it’s in the way he wants to learn, the way he takes positive criticism. I think he’s really powerful and I think he’s got more levels [of development] to go.”
