Off the back of two incredible free-kicks against Real Madrid, Rice's stock has never been higher – and yet he can achieve so much more

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For several years after his departure, Arsenal were continually told – even in the most primitive ages of modern media – that they needed to sign a true successor to Patrick Vieira. The long-serving midfielder and captain chose to leave only a year after the Gunners' famous 'Invincibles' season, taking himself to a Juventus side on the brink of the 'Calciopoli' scandal which would lead to their relegation.

The problem with that tale is twofold. Firstly, it actually ignores that Arsenal's prince waiting to take the midfield throne, a then-teenage Cesc Fabregas, took Vieira for a walk when the north Londoners knocked Juve out of the Champions League on their way to the 2006 final. Fabregas is a different sort of player, so that part is forgivable. But how are you meant to go about replacing one of the finest players of their generation, let alone when navigating an era of stadium debt?

Arsenal had to wait nearly two decades to acquire a worthy heir to Vieira's throne, and that came at the cost of £105 million. Step forward, Declan Rice, the captain of neighbours West Ham and a core member of the England setup. To his testament, there was little baulking at the price tag he came with, and Rice has looked worth every penny since swapping east London for north.

Rice has hit the checkpoints to become a person who will be in the lives of football fans one way or another for a generation. The legacy he's writing for himself is approaching the stuff of legend.

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportBig fish in a small pond

No one expected Rice to be this good. Not even close. When he first emerged at West Ham as a defensive midfielder who could slot in between the centre-backs, it was widely said his ceiling was as an Eric Dier-type player – a good-not-great starter for a team in the top six.

To his credit, Rice became more than simply a water carrier. It felt as if he was adding new parts to his game all the time, evolving from a destroyer to a tempo-setter to a box-to-box behemoth. It was no coincidence this aligned with West Ham's swift reversal from relegation candidates to European regulars considering they turned a youth academy graduate into a multi-million pound midfielder with remarkable consistency.

Going hand-in-hand with Rice's technical and physical qualities – he's known as 'The Horse' nowadays due to the latter – was a mental resilience, particularly when the Hammers were lingering at the wrong end of the Premier League table. "Probably my most challenging moment was in the 2018-19 season," Rice told in 2022. "We lost 4-0 to Liverpool and I was dragged off at half-time. For the next two games, I was left out of the squad, so then I asked to go out on loan and was told no. In those tough times, you think you're not cut out for it, because you had a bad 45 minutes. Then we went on to play Everton, I was named Man of the Match and I haven't really looked back. It was a test of mindset, of character, and just believing in my ability."

Rice, a self-aware footballer in keeping with the times, was very conscious of his development too. "I am not just a holding midfielder anymore," he said to in a piece which likened him to more advanced midfielders in Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. "I was always labelled as one that just sits in front of the back four, I really now want to see myself as a box-to-box player where I can get up and down and create things as well as getting back and helping the team."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportCaptaining West Ham to glory

Even the most passionate West Ham fans would admit that Rice had outgrew them by the time they had reached the Europa League semi-finals in 2022. A month or so later, he was named club captain following Mark Noble's retirement, taking the armband at only 23 years of age.

That European excursion made the Hammers among the favourites to win the 2022-23 Conference League. They still had to actually go on a run in order to get to the final and beat Fiorentina in memorable fashion, and Rice became the first West Ham captain in 43 years to hoist a trophy that wasn't that of the Championship play-offs.

The seeds had been sewn for a bountiful career at the very top level, and West Ham's price tag in excess of £100m was totally justifiable. They wouldn't just be parting company with a legend of their own, but one of his next club as well. You had to pay a premium. The only conceivable obstacles in Rice's way were injury and fitness, yet even then he had an almost clean record.

Getty Images SportEngland battle scars

Worth noting about Rice is he had already wracked up plenty of experience at international level with England, forming a core part of the Three Lions side who so nearly won Euro 2020. Midway through that run, he told West Ham's website of how he wanted to make an impression on a star-studded squad: "When I come into England, you've obviously got Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson, and the vocal side of the game is so important because when you’re on the pitch if you're not communicating with each other and helping each other out, if you're quiet out there an extra voice is going to help. So I think it’s important to impose your character and personality on the pitch and that's what I try to do."

His central midfield partner changed from that Euros to the 2022 World Cup, swapping out Kalvin Phillips for Jude Bellingham. "We're learning really well together," Rice told the of his relationship with the future Real Madrid star. "There's been a lot of goals he's scored this year where he's made that late run into the box. He's really added that to his game. Lampard was the best at it, arriving really late. He's really starting to show that now."

The tougher part of the international game is that rotating cast, the lengthy time between camps and a system not built like that of a club. "It's about learning and being that coach on the pitch yourself," Rice quipped on midfield battles.

Fast-forwarding to the current day for a brief moment, Rice has already amassed 64 caps (after switching allegiances from Ireland) and played in two European Championship finals. There aren't any winners' medals to show for that just yet, but that experience will almost certainly come in handy at some point.

J.LEAGUETurning down giants

Two of the top contenders for Rice's signature in the summer of 2023 were reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. The latter in particular made a compelling pitch to Rice, with Thomas Tuchel holding personal talks with the midfielder over the phone and in person to try and give them the edge, if not get a deal over the line. Such a push from such a club spoke volumes at Rice's quality and the intensity of the race to sign him.

Alas, Rice's preference was to remain in England, and he told that Arsenal's project was "more exciting" than City's. Considering the Gunners had just been pipped to the title by Pep Guardiola's side in agonising fashion, it gave the club a renewed sense of optimism they were trending upwards and their day in the sun would come.

It was a massive coup for Arsenal in every other sense to boot. Only four players before Rice had cost £50m or more – Ben White (£50m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£56m), Kai Havertz a few weeks earlier (£65m) and infamous flop Nicolas Pepe (£72m). To make the jump to nine figures and make Rice the most expensive Brit of all time at £105m with add-ons included, the club had to be certain of his success, that he ticked every box to run the midfield. They weren't left with any regret.