Rice exclusive: He 'already seeing football in a completely different way'
As Declan Rice reclines his seat in a welcomed spot sheltered from the searing Los Angeles heat, spelling out how normal and natural it already feels to be an Arsenal player, it is the culmination of a long process.
Before Mikel Arteta's side were being seriously framed as title contenders last season, the manager had marked out the midfielder as a priority target. Rice fitted the profile: age, technical attributes, personality, experience, responsibility, capacity to improve. Arsenal knew that recipe made him highly coveted and highly expensive, with taxing negotiations to endure.
So sporting director Edu and chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham got to work, sketching their football plan for Rice, how the numbers would stack up, and what Arsenal's sales pitch would be to trump rivals for his signature. They travelled to LA to present their information to Stan and Josh Kroenke, who fully supported and endorsed the club's pursuit.
With all the key stakeholders in alignment on Rice for close to a year, Arsenal confidently and calmly obliterated their transfer record to land the England international, ousting Manchester City in the process.
Their due diligence, desire, and effort in securing the 24-year-old proved decisive as he explained in an exclusive chat to Sky Sports News.
Declan Rice: "Wow. I think from the outside watching Arsenal, it was a young, energetic, hungry team that had the mentality always to win.
"I think from the opening game that was on Sky Sports, they played on the Friday night against Crystal Palace and they completely dominated the game. And I think from that moment, not only me, but a lot of players at West Ham, a lot of players around the country took notice of us and thought, wow, they're going to
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