ARSENAL’S £105million signing Declan Rice has admitted he didn’t feel “normal” after his transfer to North London.
His comments have seen the wise words Mikel Arteta gave to the midfielder when he joined the Gunners resurface.
After a bidding war between Arsenal and Manchester City, Rice, 24, ultimately decided on a move across the capital.
The England international’s transfer fee set a new record in the Premier League at the time – although it was soon eclipsed by Chelsea’s £115m signing of Moises Caicedo.
Being the most expensive British player in history, the ex-West Ham star revealed what it’s like to play with a huge price tag around your neck.
He said: “You’re a human being bought for £105m, it doesn’t feel very normal, when the transfer was going through I was very nervous because of the price tag.
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“It’s natural to think about that… But that was because of what I’d done at West Ham, what they valued me at.
“So when I signed for Arsenal, I just thought I just need to be Declan Rice, be myself, don’t be any different, everything will go smoothly.
“The first three weeks of pre-season were really tough in terms of the change.
“When you’re at a new job you start to feel really settled after a few weeks.
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“That really feels the case now. In terms of the price-tag, I don’t really think about it, I just play the games and try to play as well as possible.”
Before he took to the main stage at the Emirates, Arteta had some advice for Rice on how to cope with the pressure which.
The Arsenal boss said: “In a really natural way. He’s a really intelligent person, I think he has the right experience.
“He’s an international player as well, and he needs to forget about the price tag.
“You cannot play to try and justify every ball the £100m that they pay for you.
“It doesn’t work like that. It has to come naturally, he needs to be himself, he’s an exceptional player and he needs to put that for the team in the best possible way.”
Rice has been impressive in his debut season with the Gunners, contributing two goals and two assists in 18 games – with the team currently third in the league.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
