Declan Rice says he just loves £100,000-a-week Arsenal player

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Declan Rice is officially an Arsenal player now, and the Englishman spoke about Eddie Nketiah, a player he has known since they were both kids.

Gunners fans had to wait for a while to see Rice in an Arsenal kit. A deal between them and West Ham was agreed over a week ago, but Mikel Arteta’s side took their own sweet time to announce it.

Now, Rice is finally an Arsenal player, and fans can’t wait to see him in action. The midfielder, on the other hand, told the club’s website he’s really looking forward to meeting his old pal Nketiah.

Declan Rice says he just loves Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah

Long before both players joined Arsenal, Declan Rice and Eddie Nketiah were in Chelsea’s academy.

The duo were a part of the Blues’ youth setup until they were 14 years of age, but on one sad day for both of them, they were released and told to find a different club.

Nketiah came straight to Arsenal, while Rice moved to West Ham. Both of them worked their way up the academy and are first-team stars today.

Rice was asked about Nketiah, and the midfielder admitted that he loves the £100,000-a-week (Spotrac) Gunners forward despite the little altercation they had on the pitch in a game between Arsenal and West Ham two seasons ago.

He said: “I played with Eddie from under-nines to under-14s. We were both released on the same day and it’s crazy where football takes you, your journey.

“He’s made it through the ranks at Arsenal, I made it through the ranks at West Ham. Now we get to link back up again.

“I’ve always loved Eddie, even though we had that little altercation on the pitch before! I’ve always loved him and been close to his family. His dad is a top, top guy who used to come on all the tours with us as kids, so I’m really looking forward to seeing Eddie again and of course the other boys.”

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Declan Rice should be able to fit in easily at Arsenal.

He has a lot of good friends at the club, having shared the England dressing room with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White over the years.

Nketiah, however, is his oldest friend, and despite the little argument they had on the pitch not too long ago, they should be able to get along just fine now.

Arsenal travel to the United States tomorrow and face the MLS All-Stars next week. Rice should make his debut in that game.