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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Jonathan Gorrie

Declan Rice fires West Ham reminder to Rio Ferdinand after Arsenal praise

Rio Ferdinand says Declan Rice moved to remind him of his performances for West Ham last season.

The England international has hit the ground running at Arsenal following what was briefly a British record move to north London this summer potentially worth up to £105m.

Rice was excellent against Manchester City on Sunday as the Gunners recorded what could be a game-changing win over the champions before the international break.

City had attempted to sign the midfielder this summer too but the 24-year-old eventually plumped to move to the Emirates Stadium, hailing Mikel Arteta’s vision for the club as a major factor in his decision.

While the magnitude of his transfer was always likely to attract more attention, Rice was keen to remind Ferdinand that he was performing just as well for the Hammers during one of the most memorable campaigns in their modern history.

He captained his boyhood club to a Europe Conference League final win on a dramatic night against Fiorentina in Prague, ending a 43-year wait for a major trophy.

Despite that, Ferdinand has revealed that Rice believes the wider footballing public took much less notice of his form last season.

"You know what, I text Declan [Rice] this morning and just said testament to you, that no one’s talking about the price tag,” said Ferdinand on his Vibe with Five Podcast.

"And his response was absolutely bang on. Declan said: ‘Come on, I was doing the same thing at West Ham, Ri, and no one wanted to speak about it’.”

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