Declan Rice has said that Arsenal are “very lucky” to have the “best” coach in Mikel Arteta after the Spaniard signed a four-year contract to commit his future at the club.
Arteta has been in charge of the north London side since 2019, making him the longest-serving manager in England’s top four leagues and will remain at Arsenal until 2030.
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In an exclusive interview with ESPN Brazil, Rice lauded the impact Arteta has had on Arsenal, having guided the Gunners to their first Premier League title in 22 years last season.
“It’s just tactically, training, managing, the detail he goes into, the things he sees that you would never see,” Rice told Renato Senise. “He’s constantly watching you when you don’t think you’re being watched.
“He’s watching, constantly asking questions to try and catch you out, to see if you’re listening. He’s always keeping you on your toes, making sure that you’re ready.
“Every time we go into games, tactically we know what we’re doing. Defensively, with the ball, how we’re going to beat the opposition. It’s just the fine details, the way he breaks everything down, which makes him the best for me.
“It’s amazing that he [Arteta] signed a new contract and we get to have him as our manager for the next four years. So, we’ll be very lucky.”
Rice has started every game for Arsenal this season but withdrew from England duty during the international break to manage his workload.
The 27-year-old midfielder provided the positive update that he feels ready to play when the Premier League resumes this weekend.
“It’s probably the first time, maybe the second time that I’ve ever missed a camp since I made my debut for England so I was gutted to miss the camp, but after an honest conversation with Thomas [Tuchel] and the boss here, it was the best thing for me to do, to settle down some of the issues that I’ve had,” Rice said.
“And now I feel good, I feel fresh, and going into this next set of games, I’m going to feel really good.”
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Asked if the players felt different returning to the pitch this season as reigning champions, Rice insisted their title-winning campaign is in the past and they must focus on new challenges.
“It [winning the league] was an amazing achievement, but this year’s a brand new season: New team, new opposition, new players. So it throws up a different challenge,” Rice said. “So, yeah, OK, we are the champions, but we don’t go on the pitch and think about last season.
“We’re definitely playing with more confidence this season, you can feel that within the group, but it’s about staying humble, and taking each game as it comes like we did last year and trying to win as many as possible.”
Arsenal host Leeds United on Saturday and will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Brighton to put their title defence back on track.
