Declan Rice has signed for Arsenal this summer.
The former West Ham man has headed to the Gunners for £105m, and for that sort of fee, Arsenal will be hoping that Rice will make a massive impact at the club.
Michail Antonio, Rice’s former West Ham teammate, thinks that the midfielder will hit the ground running at his new club, stating that he’s an unbelievable player who is one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.
Rice one of the best
Antonio backed his former teammate on the Footballer’s Football Podcast.
“I think we’ll be fine. It’s football at the end of the day. He was a good player. Unbelievable player. Probably one of the best DM’s in the league, like I have always said, but football isn’t about one player it’s about 11 in the team banding together and working hard. He’s gone now and all we can do is move and fill that space with some quality players and somebody else is going to have to step up and take his place,” Antonio said.
Big step up
Antonio has backed Rice to make this step up and adapt easily to life at Arsenal, but it may not be that simple for the midfielder.
Indeed, as good as Rice has been for the Hammers, he’s never played in a team like Mikel Arteta’s.
Yes, he has the fundamentals to be a star, but playing in a high-tempo, fluid possession-based team is completely different to anchoring a David Moyes side.
Antonio thinks that Rice will shine at Arsenal, but it may not be as easy as some seem to think.
