Rice signed for Arsenal last week in a British record deal of £100m plus £5m in add-ons.
If all goes to plan, Arsenal will have one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe on their books for many years to come.
Such a signing is huge for Arsenal as they look to push for the Premier League title and compete in the Champions League.
However, Arsenal first had to beat Manchester City and Chelsea to the Englishman’s signature.
And now, Ben Jacobs has provided an insight into how that happened:
“Rice was originally open to returning to Chelsea but just not sold by the pitch,” he said “And he always feared Potter wouldn’t be the manager he would end up playing under, and was ultimately proven right.
“Arteta values Rice’s progressive passing, leadership and made it clear to the 24-year-old he would be a staple of the team for several seasons if all goes to plan.
“Rice also did his own homework speaking to Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka about Arsenal and Arteta.”
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