The England midfielder finally completed his £105million club-record transfer from West Ham on Saturday, embarking upon a first day of training under Mikel Arteta at London Colney before flying out with his new team-mates for their pre-season tour of the United States tomorrow.
Rice’s move from east to north London sees him link up once again with current Gunners striker Nketiah, whom he played alongside as a youngster during their respective early days at Chelsea.
Rice and Nketiah memorably had an angry exchange during Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League win over West Ham at the London Stadium in May last year, with the pair squaring up to each other after a furious melee involving both sets of players sparked by the latter trying to waste time late on by standing in front of an Aaron Cresswell free-kick.
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However, Rice insisted that was all water under the bridge now as he reflected on the “crazy” journeys of two players whom he claims were released on the same day by Chelsea a decade ago, having been deemed not good enough to make the grade at Stamford Bridge.
“I played with Eddie from under-nines to under-14s,” Rice told Arsenal’s official website of his relationship with Nketiah. “We were both released on the same day and it’s crazy where football takes you, your journey.
“He’s made it through the ranks at Arsenal, I made it through the ranks at West Ham. Now we get to link back up again.
“I’ve always loved Eddie, even though we had that little altercation on the pitch before! I’ve always loved him and been close to his family. His dad is a top, top guy who used to come on all the tours with us as kids, so I’m really looking forward to seeing Eddie again and of course the other boys.”
Rice joining Arsenal will also see him link up with several of his current England team-mates, including Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White.
“Yeah, it’s going to be an honour,” he added. “There are some unbelievable players I’ve played with at international level and now I get to share those same duties at club level.
Altercation: Declan Rice and Eddie Nketiah squared up during Arsenal’s win over West Ham
/ IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images“All of them have spoken so highly about the club – how each and every one of them have improved under the manager. When you hear things like that, you really take it in your stride and listen.
“You’ve got players like Saks, who’s now one of the best wingers in the world. There’s Rammers, who is one of the best keepers. You’ve got Whitey at right-back, who was unreal last year.
“There’s [Emile] Smith Rowe and so many in the squad. They all speak so glowingly of the club and the direction it’s been going in the last few years, so it’s really exciting.”
