Arsenal has splashed out around £105 million to add Declan Rice to their squad from West Ham and hopes to announce the midfielder’s capture soon.
He will become the most expensive Englishman in history and there are question marks over Arsenal’s willingness to spend that much on him.
Rice has never played in the Champions League and only just won his first trophy with West Ham. Regardless, he has cost Arsenal more than players with better resumes have cost elsewhere.
Forbes has analysed the transfer and compared it to Newcastle’s capture of Sandro Tonali, who cost the Magpies roughly £65m and claimed Arsenal overpaid for Rice.
They accept Rice is a high-value player partly because he is English, but by many standards, Arsenal was made to go overboard in their spending for the English midfielder.
Just Arsenal Opinion
The market for good English players is ridiculously inflated and everyone knows it, so it is not unexpected that we paid that much for Rice.
Manchester City have constantly splashed the cash on the finest English talents and that should make everyone know that adding an Englishman to your squad is tough nowadays.
The most important thing is for Rice to perform well and help us win some trophies; no one will remember his pricetag.
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No. Next question…
Yes, for sure.
But how much you add as English tax, positional uniqueness in current market? 10-15mil is not worth debating
£105m is way too much for a player of his calibre which is not a proven world class midfielder. This is not the traditional arsenal way. I’m very happy with what the club paid to get havertz but not for rice. Kai is super talented and so versatile with a massive potential. I still couldn’t find what so special about declan. Doesn’t really look like a generation talent for me. For half of the money they can probably get a player with higher potential. With that amount of money they are going for rice, I would rather have Aurélien Tchouaméni. A proven top player. I really like ibrahima bamba from vitoria gulmares. Still raw but very astute defensively. Quite strong, calm and composed for a very young defender. Could be a real gem of dm if being coached rightly. Just an opinion.
Rice is world class… make no mistake, this is the market…
The players you mention are good but unproven in the prem league.
Pepe was awesome in France… the rest is history….
Next question
Massively overpaid, all the same it’s the British tax you can’t avoid it when buying local.
Even Caicedo is going for £100 million or closer to it. All because he has had an amazing season in the EPL and still very young. That’s what nurtured in England (EPL) does to a player. It adds an £20 quid on the actual price.
It’s ridiculous but that’s what all the other big money clubs (Madrid, Barcelona, Man United, Chelsea, PSG, City etc ) have done to the market in the last 20 years. We have realised that we can’t keep deluding ourselves about just finding cheap, raw up and coming young players from all over the world, polishing them up and turning them into superstars that will in time conquer the world. It’s ain’t gonna happen.
So that’s why we have had to accept the “If you can’t beat them then join them” bandwagon or we will continue to be the weeping boys of the big clubs. We will continue to be left behind and made fun of like we have been since our last big trophy “2003/4 invincibles EPL title”.
What do you mean by ‘It ain’t gonna happen’? Gab martinelli for 6m(he’s value at 80m)? Van persie for £2.5m, patrick vieira for 3.5m, eduardo for 6m – if not for the bad injuries he had, would be one of the deadliest st in his prime, same go to diaby as you had seen one of the best midfield in the game when he’s fit, even zidane admitted it. Kolo for 350k (turned out to be one of the cb in epl). The list go on, pires, ljunberg, adebayor, and many more had become a top player and had a successful career. Yeah, football has evolved and big team need to be spending for competing at the top in this modern day, but at least we have to value our traditional way of doing business when it come to purchasing player as A. Wenger famously stated, we don’t buy superstar, we make them. For me the team is doing really well apart from the downfall at the end of the season. They just need more consistency. The harmony is what the most important in any great team. When the team is in that state, they’ll fight for each other and become more collaborative and everyone confidence will be sky high. This will create a winning mentality and players become more gritty. Even average player will look decent when playing confidently. I’m hoping the deal for rice will succumb so that partey will still be the main dm. We have just seen the real him in the early half of last season. They just have to keep him fit and get him a backup/understudy. One the best player to watch when he’s on top of his game.
Yet unproven in the PL, whereas Rice is and will get better under Arteta, I prefer players with PL experience, £105 million is too much for any player, but the market dictates that. Time will tell, one thing when was the last time fans were excited about the start of the season?
It’s a question of demand. City were also after him and had put in a hefty bid.
Jude Bellingham and Enzo Fernandez cost more.
So, all things considered, you’d say we paid the market price for Rice
Unless Arteta has got some plan and design to make Rice a much more accomplished player than he is. The price we’ve paid for a super fit water carrier is way over the odds. Maybe there’s qualities in Rice that were never brought to the fore as a West Ham player, maybe he’s got unique skills beyond what we know…..who knows.
When I’ve watched the premiership over the last few seasons and, as much as I loath listening to the pundits etc, one thing has always been apparent. When the pre and post match punditry takes place and when the footballing media begin to analyse the EPL and it’s influential exponent players and, during their analysis, Declan Rice’ name has very seldom been on their lips. Out and of all the games played we would hear about the positives of the multitude of midfielders such as Xhaka, Ward-Prowse, Kante, Paquta, Latvia et al, even Fornals and Lanzini got more mentions than Rice.
Reason being , he’s nothing special. His energy levels and awareness are his biggest assets. He’s got bags of energy and enthusiasm maybe, but doesn’t seem to possess any sort of real finesse. Partey as I’ve said before, might not have the fitness of Rice but Rice definitely doesn’t have the multi faceted qualities and finesse of Partey.
Again, these additional qualities could well be within the remit of Rice but have never been brought to the fore in his time at West Ham. Or maybe, Arteta believes that due to Rice being so young and malleable. He can, through additional guided instruction and tuition, he can add these additional qualities to Rice’ skil set.
I guess the other option that I should also explore is that I’ve let my disappointment cloud my objectivity and that Rice even in his current state has a perfunctory role to play and that’s all that’s needed. His shortcomings (as I see them) will be supplemented by others around him and he will just be the same player he was at West Ham but in a better team, for a heftier price !
👍🏼
I think it’s hard for any Arsenal fan to judge a player you only watch on occasion, but from what I’ve seen, he has been quality!
England are the best they’ve been in decades, with Rice being a key element, and he’s just led West Ham to their first major trophy in 43 years.
Also, his interception stats absolutely crush all of our midfielders, including Parteys. That is the kind of awareness you want from a DM.
Just keep partey and get a younger dm (lavia/ibrahima bamba-just my opinion) to be his understudy/backup. Partey just started to gels well with the team and was one of the best dm in the league in the 1st half. Can’t wait to see him combining in the midfield with havertz and ode. You really couldn’t find anyone better when he’s really fit. Probably still have a year or two(or more?) to play at the top of his game.
Yes looking on the surface one inclined to think we over paid, but in the scheme of things thinking critically you realize no, and I will tell you why.
The tournament Arsenal will be involved in hold the key to understanding Rice importance. This will be the first time since the 2015/16 season that Arsenal will be taking part in U.E.F.A.’s premier club competition, the champions league.
In the previous transfer windows, Arsenal have sold our difficult to shift players with high wages and they will most likely generate money though similar sales this summer.
Mari- £4.5 mill – Monza
Tavares- £ 25 mill ‘ West Ham
Xhaka- £21.5 mill – Leverkusen
Balogun- £40 mill – Millan clubs
Holding- £ 9 mill – Sheffield
Tierney- £40 mill – Aston Villa
Lonkango £ 15 mill- Burnley
The return to the champions league will also help the club improve our revenue be atleast £30 millions, provided we can get out of the group stages
I don’t think you ever overpay for a player – the price paid is how much the manager buying the player values him.
Mostly importantly we have not signed the player yet – or at least I have not seen him standing next to MA wearing an Arsenal shirt.
I have said before this and Timber’s transfers to Arsenal have dragged on terribly – are they more complicated signings than say Mason Mount or Macallister? I don’t think they are.
100% we overpaid. But that’s on Arteta for putting that much pressure on the club to do whatever they could to get Declan Rice.
Arteta seems to really really rate Rice that it became so desperate. You could imagine Arteta all pacing like a little kid in a Toy shop saying “But but I want this one, please mummy, please.”
Arteta has earned the respect and confidence from the higher ups that they seem to have so much faith him his decisions. So now he has to reciprocate that trust and faith into winning the big boy trophies.. He has got to see it through and not choke when a slight bit of serious pressure is applied. We have spent big so there is going to be more pressure than we have been used to since Arteta took over. I hope he prepares his player well for it as he is now expected to be the main challenger to City..
Top 2 again at least and a trophy. Any less than that and I would label it a failure or regression. Lets build on from where we ended.
First of all – the player would have been scouted countless times by the club by people who know far more than what you do.
They would have analysed every possible statistic from his performances for West Ham and predicted his potential performance levels for Arsenal given the higher quality of players around him.
The decision would be a decision suggested by Arteta but made by the club, after all it is Kroenke’s money and not Arteta’s.
I’m a bit tired of listening or reading about Arsenal “choking” – these same people were claiming that Arsenal would finish 6th or 7th.
Let’s recognise a good effort when we see it..
First of all – the player would have been scouted countless times by the club by people who know far more than what you do.
They would have analysed every possible statistic from his performances for West Ham and predicted his potential performance levels for Arsenal given the higher quality of players around him.
The decision would be a decision suggested by Arteta but made by the club, after all it is Kroenke’s money and not Arteta’s.
I’m a bit tired of listening or reading about Arsenal “choking” – these same people were claiming that Arsenal would finish 6th or 7th.
Let’s recognise a good effort when we see it..
Yes I think we overpaid, but so what? Any comparison with Newcastle’s deal for Tonali though is quite ridiculous.
The claim was “Like Arsenal’s new man, he is a starter at international level”
The facts are Rice has started 40 international matches including 12 at tournaments, Tonali has started 9 but never appeared at tournament.
Rice started all ten of England’s last ten games. Tonali started three and was most recently dropped to the u21 squad.
Tonali is a year younger than Rice but has only 14 caps for Italy over the last four years. He was not in the squad for the Euros, nor for this summer’s nations league. Rice has there times as many caps for England (plus two for Ireland) and is nailed on to start.
Defensive midfielders used to be derided as water carriers bur the modern number six playing as single pivot has to be a hell of a player. The best example is Rodri, the rock of City’s side, who rarely has a bad game and unusually for them is hardly every rotated. We need someone similar, a brilliant all round midfielder who can play well fifty games a season. Party has done well on occasions but has only managed 99 games over three seasons. Rice has played 100 over the last two and that shows why we we need the upgrade. I cannot see many other alternatives, we looked at Caicedo but Brighton are asking £100m for him now and he has had one good season without European experience.
When you look at what Rice brings to Arsenal you can see why he is so coveted. Very consistent player having played in 93% of West Ham’s Premiership games since he broke into the side – but it is his ability to break up attacks and drive forward is what Arsenal have missed in their current squad of players.
He has the second highest stats for both carrying the ball forward with or without pressure – second only to Rodri (a lot of Man City’s counter attacks come from Rodri)
Like I said the club pays what it values the player as being – he brings an added quality that we have missed – to break presses and drive forward from that.
Any player, not just English ones, who is proven in the premier league is likely to be more expensive than one who isn’t. “He’s never played in the premier league he must be brilliant” isn’t a great way to assess talent.
There’s also the fact Arsenal were in a seller’s market. Rice wasn’t in the last year of his contract so West Ham weren’t under pressure to sell. They wanted £100m and they got it.
If you want better value you need a scouting system like Brighton. But none of the big clubs seem to be able to do that.
My question has always been why have they always cheated us in the market ever since wenger left? The answer is easy ask Edu and Arteta…These two chaps are like kids whose father struggled to put up assets for them then they come and blow them off…i remember how Wenger struggled with Arsenal infact there was a time he almost ran arsenal alone, I remember when Andre Ashavin was almost our record signing in arsenal at 15.4m pounds… Wenger struggled to put together what Arteta and Edu are now wasting as “rich kids”…wenger’s statue should be the tallest in Emirates…Not even my deadbody will pay 65m pounds for kai havertz reason he’s not good enough and he will not fit in arsenal he will instead bring confusion and good players will dropped to bench because of him…Over 100m pounds for Rice OMG players who cost that amount are really exceptional players…players who will always make you jump over your seat…am talking of the messi, Ronaldo or mbappe calbar…his work rate,game reading,ball inceptions,blocks, ball winning somebody can do it at 30m pounds not over 100m pounds…I will not have any kind of soft words for Arteta and Edu if arsenal doesn’t lift a premier league or champions league trophy at the end of the season nothing less than that… because really over 600m pounds ever since Arteta took over is enough to bring in that…I rest my case
You’re stuck in the last, bud. Abramovich came and changed the market irreversibly. Since then, rich owners have been driving prices higher and higher such that only prem clubs, Psg and Real can afford world class players. You and I may decry inflationary madness but it doesn’t change the fact that this is the market now.
The writer said in the last paragraph of this article the he/she hopes ‘Rice can put up a good performance to justify his price tag,
Lol
Rice cannot give what he doesn’t have. Dude is an average player at best and there is not way he can put in a performance that will justify £105m.
Arsenal should begin to count their loses even the season begins as we have over paid for an average player.
Arteta did not see anything special in him other than an opportunity to waste money and he is not going to make him a better player either.
@MrUncool
“Arteta did not see anything special in him other than an opportunity to waste money and he is not going to make him a better player either.”
You are either a Nostradamus or a verified crazy troll. I’m going for the latter ….
You are entitled to your opinion about my comment.
If you think Arteta will improve Rice, first tell us how Arteta has improved Lokonga and Viera.
The point is how do you KNOW that Rice is a waste of money and Arteta is just buying him to spend the clubs money, Mr Uncool?
He has improved our club and most of our players. Some players need more time to adapt and some are struggling to fulfil their potential. I believe that Viera will be a much better version of himself next season.
What a thoughtless comment.
Half empty glass type of supporter I take it? why not wait til half way through the season before you decide
Thank you MrCool.
Thank you, the same with Havertz, why do we get bullied for buying players?
What’s our biggest sale on Our players? I believe none over 40m.
Rice should have at best cost 70m because of the English tax, he’s got a year left on his contract, Damn
Edu and Arteta always put themselves in a disadvantage when negotiating for a player simply because they don’t know how to keep their cards next to them…That’s why we missed on mudryk and almost missed out on rice…I really do believe that mancity was never interested in Rice but they came in as a catalyst to make arsenal pay over the odds, Chelsea was never interested in mudryk but because arsenal wouldn’t keep their cards next to their chest…Chelsea just came in just to make him not to join Arsenal and ended up buying a wrong player…you still need to consult Wenger…do you know how Wenger signed Eduardo from nowhere to replace Henry?…I mean I admire how Wenger would pull his business because even ostein’s and Romanos of this world would just see a player having his arsenal medical without anything being reported…so there was no bidding war with any club and he would get his players at a decent rate…
Remmy from what I understand,Edu and Arteta don’t do the negotiations. There are experts who are employed to do that so I hope you get the facts right in that regard. The coach’s job is to sell his ideas or project to the prospective player. The negotiations are handled by a different entity. I do hope there’s someone on this forum who understands the entire process of signing a player and can share with us this process in a more detailed write up.
People should stop acting this way about Rice, wait let him perform before judging him. In the last 10 to 15 years if you don’t spend big you don’t win big that is just the logic. What Leicester did was once in 30 years so don’t expect another to happen in the next 20 years, with all Brighton has now they can never win the league just forget it. There is an adage that said if you can beat them you join them that is just what Arsenal is doing to win league or champions league now we have to spend big, FORWARD EVER ARSENAL
I think you’re right
Leicester winning was an anomaly- a joyful one for them then but look at them now.
We as Arsenal fans have the benefit of a great history to revel in and in this day and age getting to where we were last season with Arteta was something I hoped for but didn’t expect due to his lack of experience and the strength of ManC Chelsea and Liverpool
To go that step further and to truly compete and not be one season wonders then investment on a grand scale was required. Over to you, Arteta to show that you are now experienced enough to drive the team onwards and Allanball08 – upwards too
“if you don’t spend big you don’t win big that is just the logic” – maybe, but you have to spend big on the right players, look what happened with Pepe. That’s why the question is being asked.
Agree with your first point – we can’t judge if we’ve overpaid until we’ve seen how well he fits in with our team. I believe rice has a lot of ability and I’ll be absolutely shocked if he turns out to be a poor player for us, but it’s possible he’ll struggle to justify the 105m we paid. He has to have a big impact because we could have spread that fee across two high level signings, which *may* have been the better move – time will tell
If we are to win trophies we need £100m players in the side, we developed one ourselves – Saka, bought another one cheap – Ødegaard – and a few more may come onto that category of they keep developing Martinelli, Saliba but sometimes we do actually have to pay out that sort of money.
Rice has to prove he’s a 100m player still. Him costing us 100m doesn’t make him worth that amount – Pepe is not worth 72m, but we paid it because we thought he was.
Davi
We paid it because we’re Shit at negotiations and whoever is in charge has got a percentage of it.
We cannot pay 65 and 105 for Havertz and Rice respectively. They are average.
Diaby from Leverkusen would have cost less than 65m and he’s miles ahead of Havertz don’t you think?
OVERPAID is a understatement, we the new mugs in world football alongside our neighbours Chelski..(but unlike them with ‘Saudi SUGARDADDIES’ who bail them out of their senseless buying at inflated prices) I truly fear that our days of getting players for their near true price is over/done nd we going to be taken to the cleaners almost every time we go in for a player (to the detriment of our club)
I luv MA nd what he’s done to our beloved club but after spending close to £600M in transfers, there’s no more room for excuses nd he’s got to deliver!!!
The “true price” is where supply and demand meet, not what you want it to be.
Can’t think of a single opposing manager or team out there who will be having sleepless nights worrying about facing overpriced Rice in the Arsenal starting eleven. Not a single one.
Pepe was never worth £72M just like Rice not worth £105M @ SeanM, nothing to do with supply or demand as no one else wanted him except us, Man Cithey were just driving up the price nd we got mugged off, we should just paid Brighton £80M for a far superior Caicedo(which I also think is overpriced) but he’s the better of the two IMO nd I don’t think non of us woulda been as disillusioned nd split as we are with it all.
We paid what we had to to get him. How is that over paying?
we over paid West Ham by 40 million Rice does not worth more than 65 million i would rather pay 80 million for Caicedo because he is the better player speaking of which arsenal have some players up for sale Balogun is worth 60 million easy anything less is a give away Holding 15 million Lonkango 20 million Tavares 25 million these players are worth every penny i have quoted here or else its a give away while we have to pay through our teeth Arsenal need to make a buck like other teams as well
Well said Shak