Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has shared details of a text message exchange he had with Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice.
Declan Rice once again produced a fantastic performance in the middle of the park for Arsenal, as the north London club secured a 1-0 win against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Prior to this triumph, the Gunners had lost their previous twelve Premier League clashes with Manchester City. However, Rice was signed to make the difference in these big games, and he was able to do exactly that on this occasion.
Arsenal restricted Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions on Sunday to just four shots, only one of which was on target. Rice played a crucial role in blunting City’s forward play, as he expertly protected his back four and broke up attacks in the midfield zone.
Arsenal paid a club-record £105 million in the recent summer transfer window to prise the 24-year-old away from West Ham United. He has lived up to his price tag so far.
Mikel Arteta will be delighted with how quickly Rice has settled into life at the north London club.
Rio impressed by Rice response
Rio Ferdinand has also been impressed by what he’s seen from Rice at Arsenal, and has complimented the 45-cap England international directly. Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, the ex-centre-back revealed details of a text conversation he had with Rice after the win over Manchester City.
Ferdinand said, “you know what, I text Declan this morning and just said ‘testament to you, that no one’s talking about the price tag’.”
“And his response was absolutely bang on. Declan said: ‘Come on, I was doing the same thing at West Ham, Ri, and no one wanted to speak about it’.”
“It’s true. What I said about Jude Bellingham before, transferring the level of performance and impact on your team, he’s transferred that to Arsenal.”
Rice was indeed exceptional for West Ham, and a fan favourite at the London Stadium. He honed his game there, across 245 appearances for the Irons, and Arteta will have valued him already having so much top level experience under his belt.
However, there was still plenty of pressure on Rice coming in to Arsenal, due to the price the Gunners paid for him, and the fact that he would have to fight with the likes of Thomas Partey for a starting place in the team. He deserves credit for rising to the challenge.
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