24 February 2024 , 13:37
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Alan Shearer has been proved right after heaping praise on Declan Rice when Arsenal forked out an eye-watering £105million for the England international.
At the time of the signing, Rice became the most expensive Premier League player of all time and though that record was eventually broken by Moises Caicedo's switch to Chelsea, the Arsenal ace remains the most expensive British footballer in history. It was a fee which sparked discussion, given it was £30m more than the club's previous record fee for Nicolas Pepe.
One high-profile pundit who disagreed with the Gunners decision was Roy Keane. Discussing Rice's fee, the Irishman told ITV : "They paid way too much for him! He's certainly not worth over £100 million! But a really good player. We will find out over the next year or two how good Declan is." Keane went on to add: "Has he got that really top quality in terms of seeing a pass and getting nine or 10 goals? We'll soon find out."
However, Shearer was quick to support Arsenal's lavish spending and cited Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez as a reason why the Gunners were always going to have to surpass the £100m mark. On the The Rest is Football podcast, the Newcastle icon explained: "Very good signing, a lot of money.
"Once Chelsea paid what they did for Enzo Fernandez then that was always going to be the money that he went for over £100m. A lot of money but I think he’s an exceptional player. [He gives them] solidity, leadership, reliability."
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Six months later, Shearer's assessment has rung true, with Rice the favourite for Arsenal's player of the season gong after a stellar debut season so far. The former West Ham captain has transformed the Gunners midfield and made Mikel Arteta's men far tougher to break down.
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Rice has featured in all 25 of Arsenal's Premier League games and is a large factor in the fact the Gunners boast the best defensive record in the league. The 25-year-old has won Man of the Match awards on six separate occasions so far this season, bringing the kind of leadership Shearer predicted.
Arteta echoed a similar sentiment in his most recent assessment of Rice. The Gunners boss told TNT Sport: "His presence, when he is overlooking everything, he is bringing light and clarity and guidance to everybody and that's his biggest quality. He is a leader, still very young and a lot to learn but he's got the right foundations to become an incredible player for us."
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