It is a sign of how loved Declan Rice is at Arsenal that if you were to walk into their canteen, you would struggle to guess who he is sat with.
One day it might be Leandro Trossard, the next maybe Ben White or Eddie Nketiah. The only certainty is that Rice would not be on his own.
After joining in July for a club-record £105million fee, Rice made it his priority to speak to everyone as he set about hitting the ground running at Arsenal.
He was given a helping hand by Mikel Arteta on his first day, when the manager slapped a name tag on his shirt that said: ‘Hello, I’m the new person!’
Thankfully for Rice, many of his new team-mates had a day off, but Arteta’s joke landed well with the academy players who were present.
Rice took it all in good spirits and over the following weeks pushed ahead with his plan to integrate himself.
Staff were impressed by the way he conducted himself and there was no sense of arrogance after arriving as the most expensive British player ever.
Rice spoke to every person with the same respect, whether they were a first-team player or worked security on the gate at the training ground.
As he did at West Ham, the midfielder has interacted with young players and given them advice. He has done the same with Arsenal’s women’s squad, who share the gym with the first team and academy players.
Rice is a natural leader and will not shy away from speaking his mind if something needs to be said.
When he joined, Arteta described him as a “lighthouse”, saying he would “light up the others, improve the others and make the team better”.
Rice has quickly become a popular figure in the dressing room. He rapped ‘[R]ice [R]ice Baby’ by Vanilla Ice for his initiation song, even though Aaron Ramsdale begged him not to.
Rice knew Ramsdale from the England squad and both are keen golfers, playing a round at Wentworth this summer with Alex Runarsson and Rob Holding.
Rice, who plays off a handicap of 12, uses golf to clear his head and regularly plays with his dad and friends, but it has also helped him integrate into the squad.
The midfielder also knew Bukayo Saka well and was in the same Chelsea youth team as Nketiah, but he has not just hung around with them and his outgoing personality means he quickly forms bonds with people.
Rice has maintained good relationships at West Ham, texting David Moyes before the season started to wish the club well. He also caught up with his former manager after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at the London Stadium.
He remains close with Jarrod Bowen, who he sees on England duty, and Mark Noble has been to watch him play this season.
It was important for Rice to leave West Ham on good terms and, even as the transfer saga rumbled on over the summer, he did not speak out.
"There was no sense of arrogance after Rice arrived at Arsenal as the most expensive British player ever"
Instead, the 24-year-old travelled to the Algarve in Portugal to train at The Campus, which he knew well as West Ham held a camp there before the Europa Conference League final. That meant Rice was in decent shape when he joined Arsenal.
The Gunners believed they could sign the midfielder for £90m, but pushed the boat out when Manchester City’s interest drove the price up.
Arteta was key to getting the deal done and Rice made it clear he wanted to play under him.
It was explained he would be used as a No6 or No8 and Arsenal’s desire to build their future around him was shown by the offer of a five-year contract, with the option for a further 12 months.
To help get up to speed quickly on how Arsenal play, Rice has undertaken extra analysis sessions with assistants Albert Stuivenberg and Carlos Cuesta.
The focus has been adding to Rice’s all-action game by showing him how standing still can sometimes be just as effective as a lung-busting run forward.
Rice was predominantly used at the base of midfield at the start of this season, but he has been shifted forward.
Part of that is down to Thomas Partey being injured and Kai Havertz struggling to fill the void of Granit Xhaka as a No8.
Rice has been trusted with that role more recently, playing alongside Martin Odegaard and with Jorginho anchoring the midfield.
Arteta may opt for that system again at Newcastle on Saturday, given their energetic and physical midfield.
Rice was eager to compete with Partey before joining but has also learned plenty from Jorginho, who has given him as much advice as he wants on the tactical side of the game.
The hard work has paid off, with Rice enjoying a brilliant beginning to life at Arsenal, starting every Champions League and Premier League game.
Rice has excelled in big matches against Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, and the clearest sign of his success is that no one talks about his price tag any more.
