Darren Bent shares his high expectations for ‘brilliant’ Arsenal star Declan Rice

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Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has expressed his admiration for Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.

There was plenty of pressure on Declan Rice when he arrived at Arsenal in the recent summer transfer window. The Gunners shelled out a club-record fee of £105 million to prise him away from West Ham United, ensuring that expectations around the player were sky high.

So far, though, Rice has looked entirely at ease at the Emirates Stadium. The 24-year-old has hit the ground running for his new club and has been in sensational form so far this season.

Mikel Arteta will be delighted with the start Rice has made to life at Arsenal. The 45-cap England international has done exactly what the north London club bought him to do, making them more solid in the middle of the park and better able to cope against top class opposition.

This was best demonstrated by the key role Rice played in blunting Manchester’s City’s attacking play during the Gunners’ recent 1-0 win over the reigning Premier League champions.

Rice on the rise

The £240,000-a-week star is already living up to his gargantuan price tag, and Darren Bent is confident that there is more yet to come.

Speaking on TalkSport, he said, “you think to yourself you’re paying £100million for a player, he should be decent really. So it’s hard to kind of say, well yeah, he’s been the best signing, because you paid £105 million for him. But he has been brilliant for Arsenal, absolutely brilliant.”

“You’ve seen the impact he’s had certainly on the season so far and he’s only going to get better and better. He’s fitted into this Arsenal team seamlessly so I think he’s been really impressive.”

Given his age, Rice still ought to have room to improve. He will also learn plenty from working under Arteta, who knows a thing or two about impressing as a Premier League midfielder. If the former West Ham man can take his game up a few levels then he has the capacity to cement himself as one of the Gunners’ all-time greats.

He also has plenty to offer off the pitch, too. Arteta has already earmarked him as a future captain of the club, and those leadership skills will prove vital at some stage.