It’s a Tuesday afternoon in the U.S., and Declan Rice is excited to be here. “Very excited,” actually, he says.
“Here” does not necessarily mean the preseason American tour where he made his Arsenal debut in front of a sellout crowd at D.C. United’s Audi Field. The Gunners’ newly minted £105 million ($133.2 million) transfer from West Ham, now the most expensive British player of all time, is referring to his new London club.
“It’s been a big transition the last couple of days,” Rice says. “Obviously used to one way of playing and coaching for so long. So to now come to a new manager, new team, new ideas … I’ve learned so much already.”
He’s not the only Arsenal player entering the season with some newfound knowledge. The 2022–23 season was a wild ride for a team that began to reach its potential far earlier than expected, then faded down the stretch.
It was also the culmination of a rebuild of dramatic proportion and bold commitment to its manager and players. Now, after a season where the team’s young core learned what it took to be one of the world’s best was followed by an offseason of key additions, Arsenal appears poised to take over.
