football | Friday, June 30, 2023 11:33 AM (Revised at: Friday, June 30, 2023 12:34 PM)

Rice will make Arsenal more competitive next season

Devang Prasad

If all goes to plan in the next few days, Declan Rice will be Arsenal’s second summer signing of the transfer window and British transfer record signing. Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have pushed hard for the signing of West Ham’s captain and it appears that they have finally got their man. We caught up with former Liverpool winger John Barnes to discuss the transfer of a player he is a major fan of.

In this article:

Rice is a fantastic signing for Arsenal
Is Rice worth the £105m fee
Will Arteta improve Rice?
City are still favourites despite missing out on Rice

Rice is a fantastic signing for Arsenal

Man City pulled out of the race for Declan Rice which gave Arsenal the greenlight to finalise a deal with West Ham for the signing of West Ham’s captain. Arsenal will be looking to close the gap between themselves and the league’s treble winning Manchester City.

Barnes believes that Rice is a fantastic signing for Arsenal as he is ready to go straight into the starting line up and will make the team more competitive in the long term.

“It’s a signing that bodes well for Arsenal.”

“City have pulled out of the race because City know he wants to go to Arsenal”

“Of course they were after him but he knows who he wants to join so why would City stay in the race.”

“It’s a good signing for Arsenal as it makes them more competitive. Especially as they just confirmed Havertz which is a great acquisition.”

“Arsenal need players that are ready to go straight into the team.”

“Rice will be a fantastic signing for Arsenal.”

Is Rice worth the £105m fee

Rice will become the most expensive British player of all time once the deal goes through. A record that had previously been held by Manchester City winger Jack Grealish. Despite the fee being extremely high, Barnes isn’t deterred by the cost of Rice.

Barnes claims that Arsenal are doing the right thing in signing Rice if they are happy to pay the fee for the England international.

“Mac Allister was 30 odd million and is Rice three times better than Mac Allister? No.”

“Fees aren’t important. Fees are what you’re willing to pay, what you’re prepared to pay or what you have to pay.”

“Fees don’t mean anything. What I do know is Rice is a fantastic player. Arsenal believe he is worth £105m so he’s worth it.”

Will Arteta improve Rice?

Questions are already being asked about whether Rice will fit into Mikel Arteta’s system. How will he improve under the guidance of the highly esteemed Mikel Arteta who has garnered a great reputation over the last year. Barnes says Rice going to Arsenal is more about him fitting into Arteta’s system and way of playing than it is about his ability to improve during his time at Arsenal.

“It’s not a case of making him better. It’s a case of fitting Rice into Arsenal’s system.”

“It won’t mean that because Rice has joined Arsenal and Mikel Arteta that he’s become a better player.”

“It means that he’s effective for Arsenal.”

“He’s been a great player for Arsenal and maybe he’ll be asked to do something different for Arsenal.”

“They may want him to sit in front of the back four and score just one goal. Does that make him a worse player than the one that joined Arsenal?”

‘Rice will be asked to fit into the Arsenal team from a defensive point of view and he’ll do well there.”

City are still favourites despite missing out on Rice

Both Arsenal and Rice will be under tremendous pressure for results from the media, pundits and fans alike once the deal goes through. Barnes expects the pressure to be massive but still sees City as favourites for the title next season.

“The most expensive British player ever will always be under pressure. With the price tag comes pressure and responsibility.”

“With Arsenal spending like they have, should we be expecting Arsenal to be doing better than they did last year?

“No. I still don’t see them as favourites to win the league.”

“City are still favourites but I think Arsenal will show more consistency.”