Arsenal "robbed" West Ham over the signing of Declan Rice, says Ian Wright.
The former Hammers captain swapped east London for north over the summer for a club-record deal worth up to £105million, including add-ons, smashing the Gunners transfer record.
Rice arrived with the reputation as one of the best in the world in his position but there were some eyebrows raised over the significant outlay as again Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was among the biggest spenders in the country.
But the 24-year-old has wasted on time repaying his transfer fee by helping the Gunners return to the top of the table as they look to make amends for their remarkable title race collapse of last season.
And Wright believes Rice has all the attributes to be a future Arsenal captain and West Ham were even short-changed in the deal.
"It’s the physicality and fluidity of him. He looks strong, we just look different with him,’ the Arsenal legend said on the Wrighty’s House podcast. "I love Martin [Odegaard] and he’s our captain and I’m very happy, absolutely delighted with that.
"But when you have a player whose eight or nine out of ten every week, leading by example with everything that he does… you can’t help but think, 'that guy is a captain'. That guy is a captain in the way he’s playing.
"And I’m not being biased or anything, but I was speaking to a couple of West Ham fans recently, and I wind them up all the time.
"I said, 'I feel like we robbed you, I feel like we should give you an extra £20million. I’m going to give you an extra £20m because it’s making me feel guilty that we’ve only got him for £100m!'.
"Since Declan Rice really kicked on with West Ham and got into the England squad, I cannot remember him having a bad game. Every single game he’s doing something of note, he’s affecting the game. I think, without a doubt, he’s the major difference for us this season."
