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David Moyes says Arsenal should have paid £150m for Declan Rice

By on March 10, 2024

Declan Rice Bukayo Saka Arsenal

Months after leaving for Arsenal, West Ham’s manager suggests his team misses Declan Rice – the best player in England.

Last summer, the Gunners, eager to elevate their midfield, spent £105 million to sign Rice. Before they closed that deal, Bayern Munich and Manchester City tried to hijack it. Fortunately, the 25-year-old had his heart set on a move to the Emirates Stadium.

At Arsenal, the midfielder has been a source of excitement; he has hugely impressed. Paul Merson claims he has moved Arsenal to the next level, while Jamie Carragher claims he is the key to Arsenal’s title challenge.

Rice is ‘doing everything’ for this Arsenal team; he is not just spectacular defensively but also in the final third. He’s collecting assists with his well-hit corners; he’s also added goals to his game. With 6 goals and 6 assists in all appearances for Arsenal thus far, he has already posted his best stats in a league season since stepping onto the spotlight.

Moyes discusses Rice

West Ham must be disappointed to have lost him. They may believe that if he were still with them, they would be better off. David Moyes, in his latest press conference, conceded as much, noting that their loss of England’s best player, Declan Rice, has undoubtedly had an impact on them. He said,

“I think Declan covered up a lot of things, was able to tidy things up, and help us. He’s probably the best player in England at the moment, I would say. If you lose the best player in England out of your team, you’re going to be affected one way or the other.”

However, he admitted that, unlike other marquee midfield moves made by other teams, Declan Rice was worth every penny spent on him. In fact, he suggests Arsenal may have picked up a bargain as Moyes feels Rice was worth £150m, especially considering he’s English and has another 6-7 years left. Moyes is quoted as saying by the Standard:

“I always said, and I think everyone laughed, that he should be £150m. I think other players have been sold for close to his price and I don’t think they’ve touched Declan’s level of performance.

“The other thing is Declan is English, an England international, and he’s 25 now so he’s still got another six or seven years of his best years still to come.

“So, I think in time maybe we’ll look back and think it could have been more. But let’s be fair, I think most people including the media, everybody, would have said it was a really good price for Declan at the time.”

Chelsea paid more than £100 million for Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, but they have failed to live up to their expectations. Gooners should be pleased with the club’s recruitment strategy and how effective it was.

If Arsenal wins the league, it would be criminal not to recognize the Rice swoop as one of the factors that contributed to their resurgence this season.

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