“I just want to play for Arsenal” – Arteta reveals details of Rice talks

There was a moment during last summer’s pursuit of Declan Rice when Arsenal fans started to fear the worst, that a seemingly ‘done deal’ for the midfielder wasn’t going to get over the line.

Eager to secure as much cash as possible, West Ham repeatedly briefed the media on the status of negotiations and revelled in a late offer for their captain from Manchester City.

Had the England international seriously entertained the offer from the Etihad it would have been a huge blow for Mikel Arteta on the eve of the new season.

As it turns out, the Spaniard wasn’t worried. He trusted that Rice, who would end up signing for Arsenal in a club-record deal that could rise to £105 million, was always destined for N5.

“There’s always a possibility when you want to recruit a top player that there’s interest from other clubs,” reflected Arteta on Friday.

“I was really positive about it because when I spoke to him, he mentioned many times from day one, I just want to play for Arsenal and want to play with you.

“He maintained his word until the last moment and we were good enough to acquire him.”

While Arsenal didn’t originally envisage shelling out such a mammoth fee, £30 million more than their previous record signing, when push came to shove, the club decided the deal wasn’t a gamble but a calculated risk. Arteta knew that he could build a team around Rice and that the qualities he possesses are rare.

A few months ago, the Hammers were crowing about the deal. This week, a small group of Arsenal fans, still high on Rice’s 97th-minute winner at Luton, jokingly set up a crowdfunding page to raise an extra £25 million for the East End side.

After watching Rice produce countless man-of-the-match displays in the first half of the season, they clearly feel Arsenal have had the last laugh. You sense Arteta feels that way too.

“He’s extremely intelligent to read situations, to break up play, to win duels, critical duels, in certain areas of the pitch that allow us to counter and progress in really dangerous situations,” said the boss.

“I think he gives us a presence and an attitude that is very difficult to find in a holding midfielder.

“He’s been a key player there but we have also played with him further up the pitch with Jorginho there [behind], Thomas [Partey] there, with an [inverted] full-back, with Mo [Elneny].

“We have various opportunities in different games to use him in different ways in relation to what we expect for the game.”

It’s also clear that Arteta really admires what Rice brings to the dressing room; an understated maturity that has allowed the 24-year-old to wear the huge price-tag lightly.

“I think it’s really simple,” said Arteta, “he’s really humble, funny, really hardworking, he’s extremely committed in everything that he wants to do, he wants to win in everything that he does.

“He’s really easy-going and he’s integrating in the team in a really positive way.”