Mikel Arteta makes bizarre Declan Rice comparison as he says £105m Arsenal star will ‘put the light in others’
MIKEL ARTETA says Declan Rice will be the “lighthouse” to guide Arsenal to glory.
The club-record transfer signing yesterday trained with his new team-mates for the first time since his £105million move from West Ham.
Ex-Gunners boss Arsene Wenger piled on the pressure by predicting Arteta’s men will lift the Prem crown — a feat not achieved since Arsenal’s 2004 Invincibles.
And current manager Arteta admitted his own expectations were sky high with Rice on board.
He said: “What we are getting with Declan is his leadership, his aura.
“I see him like a lighthouse, that he is willing to put light in others and improve others and make the team better. And that is a huge quality.
“The way he talks and presents himself and the ambition he has, and the passion towards the game, is exactly what we needed.
“He is going to bring the team to a different dimension.”
Arteta, 41, added: “The pressure is on us now. After what we did last year, a lot of people are going to talk about what is next — and we made some important signings.
“It’s nothing different to others but when you are Arsenal you have to handle that.”
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Rice’s arrival, along with those of Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz, represent a £200m upgrade on the side that led the table until April before succumbing to Manchester City in the final weeks of the season.
Rice joined England pal Bukayo Saka and Co at Washington’s George Mason University as Arsenal prepared for a friendly, in the early hours of Thursday morning, against an MLS All-Stars team managed by Wayne Rooney.
And Arteta made it clear he feels the former West Ham man can prove the difference between coming close and actually taking the final step.
The Spaniard added: “He has the physical qualities we were missing for a while as well. That is why we had to do what we had to do, because it was really important for us to get him.
“Last season we were discussing how he could evolve the team and how he could complement the players that we already have and give us more flexibility and quality and depth.
“We feel he can also take that winning hunger into the team with players who really want to push themselves to a different level.
“What we have done this summer improves the squad significantly.”
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