In his own words: Why Declan Rice signed for Arsenal

Arsenal's latest addition Declan Rice revealed manager Mikel Arteta was a 'major factor' behind his decision

Transcript

00:00 Me as a player, I've come here really hungry to have more success and to spend my best

00:04 years at this great club.

00:06 Declan, at last we can say welcome to the Arsenal. How does it feel to finally be a

00:15 Gunner?

00:16 First of all, I just want to say a massive thank you to the Arsenal fans for the support

00:21 so far. It's been overwhelming really. Obviously there's been a lot going on, a lot of speculation

00:26 for months. But obviously as a player, you want to get things dealt with as quick as

00:30 possible so you're settled. Today I've had my first day so I'm feeling really at home.

00:35 As you say, it's been a busy time, let's say the last few weeks. What's it been like for

00:39 you? How have you been feeling?

00:40 It's been a bit overwhelming obviously because of my relationship with West Ham and the love

00:44 and support I have for them. It's been really hard to walk away. But letting football, amazing

00:50 opportunities arise, big clubs like Arsenal have come for me. It's really hard to turn

00:57 down. You only ever get one career and I really believe in what Mikel's building here, what

01:02 the squad is building. I'm really now looking forward to the future with Arsenal.

01:07 It's a huge decision for you, a big moment in your career. But what were the factors

01:11 that convinced you that this was the right move for you?

01:14 I think I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory

01:17 that they've been going on. Not last season, the season before they finished fifth, but

01:20 you could see the style of play Mikel was implying. And then last season, obviously,

01:25 outstanding season, blew every team out of the water pretty much. I think with Mikel,

01:32 how he works, the squad, how young everyone is, the energy now around the club and also

01:37 the challenge of now getting Arsenal back to where they belong, that means a lot to

01:42 me and I know the fans really want that. Me as a player, I've come here really hungry

01:46 to have more success and to spend my best years at this great club.

01:51 You mentioned the manager. How excited are you to be working with Mikel Arteta?

01:55 I'm so excited. I think he speaks for himself. You see how he works. You've got a real insight

02:00 into how he works on the Amazon stuff and how he works with his players. Not only as

02:05 a coach psychologically, how good he is with players, how he improves players. I think

02:09 he's a massive factor in the reason why I've come here. And also I know he's going to get

02:13 the best out of me. I've now got more levels to go up in my game and I feel like he's the

02:19 manager to take me to them next levels. So I'm really excited to be working with him.

02:23 [Music]