Declan Rice says Mikel Arteta gave him a sticker to wear on his first day at Arsenal to help him feel welcome.
The Gunners made Declan Rice the most expensive British footballer of all time during the summer, signing the dynamic midfielder for £105m from West Ham United.
Rice has quickly become one of Arsenal's key players in the first few weeks of the season. The midfielder even scored the club's most memorable goal of the season thus far prior to the international break, giving the Gunners a late lead against rivals Manchester United.
Speaking to on the YouTube channel Tubes and Ange Gold Life, Rice revealed the hilarious details of his first day as an Arsenal player, stating that Arteta made him wear a sticker to walk around the training facilities:
“I was a bit nervous. The first day I was down there on the Sunday, the lads weren’t in but I come out of the physio room and Arteta, just like little things he does, he put like a sticker on me saying ‘hello, I’m the new person’. He just walked in and put it on my chest.
"All the 18s and 21s in the canteen and I’m walking through trying to hide my chest. Just little things like that.”
In an interview with Channel Four, Rice also discussed what it was like leaving West Ham to join Arsenal. The midfielder spent a decade on the books in east London, and revealed that he still talks to his ex-teammates and manager:
"I really can't explain the feelings, people leave clubs and lose affiliations with that club. I still speak to the boys regularly, I texted the manager at the start of the season saying, 'Good luck boss'.
"He texted me back. We've got a good relationship. People at the club, we're still constantly talking and I never want it to not be like that."
