Club ‘Trajectory’ key in Declan Rice’s Arsenal move

Declan Rice is finally an Arsenal player after weeks of waiting and has detailed why he switched from West Ham to the Gunners.

We were made to wait, but Declan Rice is finally an Arsenal player after everything has been ticked off.

There were some tense moments over the last few days, but in the end, Mikel Arteta got his man, and Arsenal has a new star midfielder.

With Rice so beloved by the West Ham faithful, naturally, leaving such a superb place was tough. However, the England international detailed why he chose to make the move, with the direction Arteta currently has the club going being a key factor.

"“I’ve been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they’ve been going on,” Rice said via Arsenal.com. “Not last season but the season before, they finished fifth but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing. Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Man City.“With Mikel and how he works, the squad, how young everyone is, the energy around the club and also the challenge of getting Arsenal back to where they belong, that means a lot to me. I know the fans really want that. For me as a player, I’ve come here really hungry to have more success and to spend my best years at this great club.”"

That is a big feather in the cap of Arteta and what he and Edu are currently building in north London. With Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber also joining, along with the re-signings of William Saliba and Reiss Nelson, the summer has gotten off to a fantastic start.

With Rice being Arsenal’s No.1 target this summer, to finally get the deal done is superb, and now attention can turn to outgoings.

Rice’s deal was a big domino to fall, and with still ample time to get other deals done, Arsenal has shown its intent to try and close the gap on Manchester City.

But, with the signing of Rice and another huge amount of funds spent, expectations on the Gunners are now at unprecedented levels for next season.

But that’s just how we like it.