Why Rice already fits everyone's tastes at Arsenal

IT is a sign of how loved Declan Rice is at Arsenal that if you were to walk into their canteen, you would struggle to guess who he is sat with.

- Simon Collings

One day it might be Leandro Trossard, the next maybe Ben White or Eddie Nketiah. The only certainty is that Rice would not be on his own.

After joining in July for a club-record £105million fee, Rice made it his priority to speak to everyone as he set about hitting the ground running at Arsenal.

He was given a helping hand by Mikel Arteta on his first day, when the manager slapped a name tag on his shirt that said: 'Hello, I'm the new person!' Thankfully for Rice, many of his new team-mates had a day off, but Arteta's joke landed well with the academy players who were present.

Rice took it all in good spirits and over the following weeks pushed ahead with his plan to integrate himself.

Staff were impressed by the way he conducted himself and there was no sense of arrogance after arriving as the most expensive British player ever.

Rice spoke to every person with the same respect, whether they were a first-team player or worked security on the gate at the training ground.

As he did at West Ham, the midfielder has interacted with young players and given them advice. He has done the same with Arsenal's women's squad, who share the gym with the first team and academy players.

Rice is a natural leader and will not shy away from speaking his mind if something needs to be said.