Declan Rice talks pressure after Arsenal transfer

“Very nervous about transferring”

Since the summer, English international Declan Rice has been the most expensive purchase in Arsenal history and has become an integral part of the Gunners’ first team: the 24-year-old has played 1,025 of a possible 1,080 minutes of play in the Premier League to date, including in the premier class He was always in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up. Opposite the “TimesRice now spoke about his adjustment period and the pressure he initially felt after his 116 million euro transfer, the tenth most expensive in football history.

West Ham homegrown player Rice recently achieved another increase in market value after moving to his city rivals and broke the 100 million mark for the first time – only three players in the league (for an overview) and nine professionals worldwide currently have a higher market value on. “When the transfer was carried out, I was very nervous about the price,” the right-footer admitted in an interview with the English newspaper. “It’s natural to think about it. You’re a human being bought for £105 million, that doesn’t feel entirely normal. But that was because of what I had achieved sportingly at West Ham, what they valued me for.”

Rice contributed 28 goals in 245 competitive games for the “Hammers” and developed into a national player at a young age. The “Three Lions” have made 47 appearances, and Gareth Southgate is also the defensive midfielder in the center. Despite the pressure he felt during his first professional transfer, he now feels like he has really arrived at Arsenal.

“When I signed for Arsenal I thought I just have to be Declan Rice, be myself, not be different. Then everything will somehow go smoothly. The first three weeks of pre-season were really tough in terms of the adjustment. When you have a new job, it takes a few weeks for you to really feel settled in. That really seems to be the case now,” said Rice, who also had words of praise for his coach:

“He is so energetic in his whole demeanor and the way he speaks to us. He’s like a teacher and his attitude in the locker room really encourages us and gets us really excited for the games. That’s something he’s really good at.” In the club’s environment, supporters and TV experts have repeatedly discussed the question in recent weeks as to whether Arteta should use Rice better in the sixth or eighth position. The professional no longer thinks about these debates or about his transfer fee: “I don’t really think about it, I just play the games and try to play as well as possible.”

Arsenal’s Rice on Grealish: Understanding mental issues

When asked about national team colleague Jack Grealish, who also moved from Aston Villa to Manchester City for over 100 million in 2021 and later revealed that he had problems with the pressure and expectations that came with it, Rice said: “It’s 100 million pounds, it’s one A lot of money, I can understand the pressure that comes with it. Not just the pressure you put on yourself, but also the expectation that you want to see performances like that right away.”

“I want to pay the club back immediately, they invested a lot of money in me, I have to prove why I went there and can change things,” Rice gave insight into his thoughts. He could therefore understand “why Jack might have had problems at the beginning – mentally. He was a £100 million footballer, but as he didn’t play that much at the start after his move, it was probably a whole other level of difficulty for him. He has now fully arrived and I feel the same way.”

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