Declan Rice is the most important Arsenal signing this DECADE!

I have a special announcement. West Ham fans, on behalf of every Arsenal fan and football fan, I would like to apologise to you guys. Why I believe West Ham fans specifically and West Ham United deserve an apology is because of Declan Rice. You know, I can only speak for myself. You lot can see my videos. When Declan Rice was at West Ham, I talked up his ability. I said his passing is a lot better than giving credit for. But I'm not going to sit here and say that I knew he was this good. I knew he was an amazing footballer, one of the best in his position. And obviously, watching him week in, week out at Arsenal Football Club, he's been great. I mean, the man's amazing. Like I said, I knew he was good, but this good is crazy. And the scariest thing is Declan Rice, in my opinion, has only scratched the surface in relation to how good he can be. I've said it and I'm going to say it again. If you think Declan Rice is better in the final third than everything he's done at West Ham now in an Arsenal shirt now, wait until he's had a proper year under Mikel Arteta and years for that matter. He's going to get better and better. We need to remember this is all new for Declan Rice with the greatest of respect to West Ham, playing for Arsenal Football Club, playing that six position, at times the eight position, just in a different way, because the way you would play both of them roles at West Ham is a lot different from Arsenal. We're on the front foot a lot more and all of those connotations that come with it. The man's amazing, you know, far better than I could have imagined, a far better fit, even though Declan Rice is one of those signings or appeared one of those signings. That was a no-brainer, not just for Arsenal Football Club, but there's not many teams in the Premier League. In fact, there's not a team he can't get into in the Premier League. At one point, I think every football fan imagined him to rock up back at Chelsea and I knew it burnt Frank Lampard, you know, anyone that hasn't seen the interview to mark Declan Rice being given 50 caps for England and also becoming captain. He's actually the seventh Arsenal player to captain England's national team. I think everybody imagined he would end up at Chelsea. He didn't. Fortunately for Arsenal, he ended up here. Manchester City tried to sign him. That would have been a crime against football. You know, with the greatest of respect to Declan Rice, the only one better than him in his role, without a shadow of a doubt, is Rodri. Could you imagine Declan Rice and Rodri and John Stones doing his midfield role or anything from one to all three combinations? It would have been scary. So I'm happy, even more delighted because it's a difficult task trying to win the Premier League anyways ahead of Manchester City. And if they had Declan Rice, they'd be spoiled more so than them boys at Manchester City are. Like I said, you know, I knew he was good, but I didn't know he was this good. And I think he can become great. And I don't know how far he can go, but I love it. There's so much to like about Declan Rice and I will be here all day. But if I had to whittle it down, I would say his consistency, his mentality, his leadership qualities, how he's been able to seamlessly adapt and embed himself at Arsenal Football Club. Of course, when you're signed for 105 million, that should happen. But it just shows that when you get your recruitment spot on, he can lift us to higher and higher heights. And the only questions I have for Declan Rice is how good can he be? And when will, you know, Mikel Arteta get a proper long-term central mid partner for him with the greatest of respect to the qualities of Jorginho and Thomas Partey in particular? The man's amazing. As I said, we've got to remember, for reasons I've stated previously, this is all new for him playing specifically in the Champions League and trying to challenge for a league title, like the core nucleus of all of our players. But if I had to whittle it down, I would say his mentality, his consistency. He's not giving, well, he is giving credit, but he's a big game player now. I know he is scoring goals and assisting. And when you look at the goals, the assists, the set pieces, the passes in the final third, the positions he takes up, he's improving across all of those metrics, if I'm completely honest with you. And he is a big game player, but I think he's a big game player. You know, he stood up to be counted against Manchester City twice now. He obviously got the winner against Manchester United. He helped to save the day in a disappointing result against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. While I've got nothing but respect for Jorginho and Jorginho's form, I do think when the games are open games, kind of end-to-end stuff, I think Jorginho struggles in that regard. And I think there's a correlation between Declan Rice coming off in the North London derby and Jorginho coming on beyond all the other reasons we dropped points. But the man's a big game player, if not necessarily big games on paper. Even you look at Luton, you look at a couple of times in the group stages of the Champions League, he stood up to be counted. The man's ever-present. He's consistent. His interceptions, he's a big game player. He's multifunctional and clearly intelligent to play what Mikel Arteta demands of a central midfielder, whether you play as an eight or a six individually and how that ties into every other bit of the team or aspect of the team. It also feels like he's been here forever. I also like how he fronts up to the music in difficult tasks, but it feels like he's been here forever. And that's testament to Declan Rice and obviously his team and everyone connected to Arsenal for helping him bed in. He feels like he's genuinely come from the academy. I'm going to go as far as to say I believe this is the most important signing Arsenal have made in a decade and probably the most important signing under Mikel Arteta. I believe that wholeheartedly, folks, but I also slightly disagree with that because I think on reflection, I wouldn't put Gabriel ahead of Declan Rice, but Gabriel's been probably one of the most important signings Mikel Arteta has made. And if I sat down, there might be some other exceptions to the rule, but the man's amazing man and his willingness to undertake what Mikel Arteta wants. I love the way he dealt with the price tag as well. And we also got to remember, with the man's home admission, he didn't have the best of personal pre-seasons in the sense of he adapted well and stuff, but he wasn't fully fit. So imagine how much better he would become. He's becoming more comfortable within the team. Not that that's ever been a question mark from day one. He's more comfortable with what Mikel Arteta demands of him. And you listen to his interviews. He's saying, I'm always learning. I'm learning different things, my body positioning when receiving the ball, how he wants me to play as a six, which is his bread and butter, how he wants me to play as an eight and the relationships across that with other teammates as well. So it's crazy. The man's a talisman. You know, he's a multifunctional midfielder. And I think we need to stop getting hung up on eights and sixes as Arsenal football fans. Of course, there's games, Declan Rice or whoever will play as an eight or a six. But it feels to me Mikel Arteta wants multifunctional players all around the team. And for me, Declan Rice is going to get better and better and better and better and better and better and better. And England are indirectly going to benefit not just with what Declan Rice has done at West Ham, but how he's being utilised at Arsenal. Big up Gareth Southgate, but with the greatest of respect for what could be a quote-unquote golden generation with some of the more younger players and just a strong crop of players. I think they could be stronger at centre-half and at left-back. But there's some exciting options, whether it's John Stones, Declan Rice, Colby May, no Jude Bellingham, Foden, Saka, Grealish, the list goes on. It'd be lovely to see a manager that can kind of get the best out of them in all aspects at England level. But I digress, man. Without a doubt, Declan Rice is the signing of the summer, 100%, a million percent. I'm sure there's some other signings, but for me, Declan Rice is a fantastic and phenomenal player. And I'm keen to see how he gets better and better and better at this football club. And, you know, Mikel Arteta is shown when he flexes his muscles, there's money well spent. And I must admit, Mikel Arteta, I know we can't sign everyone for 105 million, but, you know, can we find some more guys on this kind of level? And one does wonder, what would life have looked like had we signed someone like Kai If I remember better yet, in the summer, we signed Declan Rice. But in that January, we were trying to get Kai Sedo, which didn't happen. Now, maybe there's a reality where Kai Sedo and Declan Rice could have been the partnership Arteta demanded. Maybe they could have been options. Or maybe there's a reality, had we signed Kai Sedo, we don't sign Declan Rice and he's at Manchester City. But in life, everything happens for a reason. And, you know, I mean, Declan Rice, it was a no-brainer. It was always going to work out really and truly. There's no need for me to make this video. But the man is absolute mustard, really. And it's fantastic to have him at Arsenal Football Club. I can't be the only Arsenal fan that still hasn't accepted he's at the club, because when they say Arsenal's Declan Rice, or sometimes I'm watching Declan Rice, especially for England, especially the other day when he's wearing the captain's band, I'm like, I can't believe we've actually signed him. Now, Declan Rice isn't a player that is going to, you know, people are not going to pay to watch Declan Rice. He's not an attacker and things like that. I do think people are very harsh, especially when they talk about how he is in possession. I think he is on the front foot a lot more. I do think as he gets older and he understands what Arteta demands and he adds those aspects to his game, he will be slightly more adventurous. But I think he's fairly adventurous with his passing. Obviously, ball dribbling and ball carrying pause are completely different things. But he's a strong ball carrier and he's shown that at West Ham previously. And I would love to sit down with Mikel Arteta and want to know, when was the moment you said, yeah, we're going to go and get Declan Rice? There's feasibility. I'm not talking about when you knew he was a good player, blind man, Stevie Wonder could see that. But when was the time you said, you know what, let's go all out for Declan Rice? Was it when he nicked the ball off Thomas Partey? Was it him fighting with Eddie Nketiah, by the way? We forgive you for that, Declan Rice. When would it have been really? And one does wonder, how much of a role did Jack Wilshere play? Because I remember Jack Wilshere's comments a few years ago. Now, Jack Wilshere ironically is at the football club, but isn't in charge of transfers. But I remember when he talked up Declan Rice to Arsenal. Did he know something we didn't? Did he put the plans into place? And it's also testament to the club for obviously getting the deal done from a financial standpoint. And obviously, Mikel Arteta convincing and conveying his ideas to the player and what he wants to do and also arousing his imagination as to what he could achieve at Arsenal individually and collectively. Because let's face it, on a typical day, for what Arsenal have been of recent years with the greatest of respect to Mikel Arteta and what Manchester City have done, it's a no-brainer to sign for City. Yeah, you might get more football at Arsenal, but it's a no-brainer to join the treble winners and the innovative manager that Pep Guardiola is and whatnot. So I would love to know the ins and outs of the Declan Rice deal. But really and truly, who cares? Declan Rice is a consistent player. He's a confident player. He's a fantastic player. And he's going to be a linchpin in our midfield for many, many seasons to come. And let's just hope that we can obviously win some trophies and some significant honours because why else would we sign Declan Rice for 105 million? You know, Arsene Wenger's got to be somewhere smiling. You know, you've got, well, really and truly, you've got several former players at this football club in positions off the field. In Mikel Arteta, Edu, Jack Wilshere and Murtazaka. We've got a strong youth academy, which you've seen Iwobi, Ainsley Maitland, Niles Baligan, Joel Woollock all going off and do great things at various other football clubs. Currently, you've got Eddie Nketi, Rhys Nelson and Emil Smith-Rowe within the first team. Saka is going from strength to strength. So it's almost like all, and this should probably be a video in itself, but all the fruits or better yet, the seeds that Arsene Wenger planted when we transitioned to the Emirates Stadium. Arteta is obviously doing his thing, but he's taking it to another level and we're enjoying the crops. So let's just hope we can keep going. But rival fans will always mock Declan Rice and say this, that and the other. Let's be honest. They're jealous. If Declan Rice starts in your midfield, I don't want to hear it because there's not a team in the Premier League and you could argue in world football. Okay, cool. Real Madrid probably don't start there, but we could fight his case. You don't start at Real Madrid. You defo start for Barcelona. You defo start for Paris Saint-Germain. You defo start for Bayern Munich. You defo start, give or take Manchester City. All right, you've got Rodri, Pep does his thing with Stones, but he wanted him and was prepared to spend significantly. So you start there. Liverpool, he starts there. Manchester United don't even get me started because they're the ones that are doing the most. He defo starts there. Big up Kobe Maynard though. Kobe Maynard, you're seeing that you're playing with Declan Rice at England level. Come to the Emirates, my guy. Come to the Emirates. Ten hugs. Not really, not really with it. My manager, you know, despite having to deal with a lot of BS since joining Arsenal Football Club, still has a full set of hair. So, you know, his thing is very different to ten hugs. Kobe Maynard, come link up with Declan Rice. But on a serious note though, man, Declan Rice has been amazing and the only questions I have is how good can he be? Can he keep progressing, which I believe he can? And when will we sign that consistent long-term partner for Declan Rice? And what I mean by that is with the greatest of respect to Jorginho, years of going against him in that he can have a role and there's talk of signing New Deal, great, but he's not a man that's going to be used for 30, 35 of the 38-game calendar list. Thomas Partey can't stay fit for all of his qualities. You know, Declan Rice is in terms of his ability and his durability and his longevity. He ties in with what he would do in long term. And I think when you look at Martin Odegaard, you've obviously got that. Declan Rice, we're obviously speaking about him. If it was a puzzle in the midfield, just focusing on those three positions, then we've covered two of a three-man puzzle. I don't know whether Smith-Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Kai Havertz, anyone who's been given an opportunity in that eight row can stake a claim for such. I don't know what Mikel Arteta is planning in the market, but I would like to see that personally because, you know, we've got Mikel Arteta for the long term. We've got Edu for the long term. We've got a couple of people away from, you know, the footballing team in long-term positions. Obviously, KSC, the Cronkies have said they're here for the long term. You look at our defensive options, when everybody's fit, we've got some great long-term options in Timbo, in White, in Gabriel, in Saliba, Zinchenko's in his mid-20s. Apologies. Kyrie, all the same. And any of Tommy Assu signed the New Deal and any others, you know. Fair enough. It looks like Aaron Ramsdale's days are numbered, but he's 24-25. You know, Raya is 27, which for a keeper, you're basically 17. Essentially, you look in the front three. Of course, there's exceptions to the rules, with the exception of Trossart, not to play down his ability, but Martinelli, Saka, you know, Gabriel, Jesus, these lot on paper, Reece Nelson, Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, whether they're here or not are here for the long term and we're probably going to buy a striker. It's in that midfield where Jorginho's not going to be here forever. No player is, but Jorginho's not going to be here forever. You know, El Nene could be gone by the end of the summer. Partey, there's rumours you could leave. When are we going to get that long-term partner for Declan Rice? And then when are we going to marry that? Because I do feel, you know, we're going to need two midfielders within the next two years. You know, if Partey leaves, fair enough. If Jorginho stays, then I think we get one in the summer of 2024. I think personally, I think Jorginho stays for one more year. So for the end of next season, so this time next year as we're going into the summer, I think we signed another midfielder and then we finally got the long-term inism. And I would love to see that. I've been saying I would love to see another number eight or a six coming to this football club. You know, whether Jorginho or Partey want to stay, you lot do your thing. If the Fabio Vieiras, the Kai Havertz, the Smith-Rowles, these guys that are a bit hybrid, multifunctional can play everywhere. But if they show they can also play in midfield, then that's great. And we've got some long-term options and we can continue doing what we're doing. But shout out to Declan Rice. Let me know your thoughts. Comment, like, subscribe, all of that good stuff. Check out the rest of the content. God bless you all. Peace.