From €500k prospect to €90m MVP - How West Ham turned Declan Rice into an Arsenal star

It was a miserable night for Arsenal in the English League Cup on Wednesday night, as they were defeated 3-1 by London rivals West Ham to the sound of audible boos for returning star Declan Rice. After the game, Hammers manager David Moyes said, “I think everybody is entitled to their form of opinion. There isn’t a person in this stadium tonight who doesn’t recognise that Declan is a top football player.” Rice has had an electric start to his Gunners career, following his €116 million move across London from West Ham this summer. The midfielder won Arsenal’s August Premier League player of the month award, scored his first goal with a crucial late strike against Manchester United, and has already become a fan favourite at The Emirates. 

How Declan Rice developed at West Ham

After being released by Chelsea as a 14-year-old, in May 2017 Rice made his West Ham debut, aged just 18, and valued at just €500,000. The following season, Rice started the first three games of the season as a holding midfielder under Slaven Bilic in three consecutive defeats. He wouldn’t get back into the team until two months later and this time Rice was started at centre-back. He only played defensive midfield for 61 minutes that season, as David Moyes came in as the new boss, playing Rice predominantly as a centre-half, as well as cameos at both left and right-back. His value had already risen to €10m, but his ultimate position was still unknown.

Premier League winning manager Manuel Pellegrini then took the reins and moved Rice to holding midfield, where he played 34 league games in the 2018-19 season - even after Pellegrini had been replaced by his predecessor Moyes in December. That season Rice was the fourth highest midfielder for tackles won in the league, and then subsequently made his England debut. Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said at the time; “We’ve tracked him for quite a while. He can play as a holding midfielder, and I've seen him play very well as a centre-back.” Despite that, Rice has never played a minute as centre-back for his country.

In the following season, Rice’s ability to anchor a midfield at the top level was there for all to see. He played every Premier League minute and won 60 tackles - Wilfred Ndidi was the only midfielder to win more in the English top-flight. He was also second only to Ndidi when it came to interceptions for midfield players. He was beginning to grab the attention of top clubs, with Chelsea and Manchester United rumoured to be keeping tabs on the talented Englishmen - now with a value of €65m. However, he stayed loyal to West Ham. With 245 appearances,15 goals, and winning the “Hammer of the year” award in 2020, 2022 and 2023, Rice became a West Ham hero and skipper of the club. In the 22-23 season, from the heart of West Ham’s midfield, no Premier League player made more interceptions. He bowed out in superior fashion too, lifting the 2023 Europa Conference League (West Ham’s first European trophy since 1965) before Arsenal broke the bank to bring the England midfielder to North London.

How Rice has improved at Arsenal 

Rice has taken his game to another level with the Gunners this season. He has already shook off his hefty €116m price tag, and become a key player and leader in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Playing in a very different system to that under Moyes at West Ham, Rice has adapted his game superbly. Arsenal have averaged 60.9% possession this season, compared to West Ham averaging 41.4% last campaign, and Rice has flourished with the ball.

He has completed 577 passes - only bettered by defenders William Saliba and Ben White, and has the second highest pass completion rate of 91.9% behind Saliba. Persistent injuries to fellow midfielder Thomas Partey have only increased the responsibility on Rice to be Arsenal’s anchor, and building point for attacks. Rice’s defensive stability has also been key in fending off the counter-attack. He tops the Arsenal stats this season for Interceptions, and is second for both aerial duels won and tackles won. Speaking about manager Arteta at the start of the season, Rice said, “I think in the last four weeks alone I've grown so much, I've learned so much about football that I hadn't really seen before. I was blown away by him.” His stellar start at The Emirates has seen his value increase further to €100m - one of only five Premier League players valued at €100m or higher.