Fans divided by Declan Rice's Arsenal 'ambitions' and trophy statement

Declan Rice has been hailed as a ‘mentality monster’ by fans across social media following his official Arsenal signing announcement.

Today, (Saturday, 15 July), Declan Rice became Arsenal’s third signing of the summer, transferring from West Ham in a staggering £105 million deal.

In a video shared on Arsenal’s Twitter account, the 24-year-old was introduced to the wider team and was asked if he wanted to “say a few words”.

In the clip, the midfielder replied: “Obviously, first day, I’m really looking forward to playing with you all to sharing many good moments together.

Following on from the ‘trophy’ conversation, a further quote from Rice has also been posted to The Gooners’ 21.7 million followers.

It read: “My ambitions now are to win with Arsenal again. It’s time to go one step bigger and win the Premier League, win the Champions League, and I wouldn’t be here if I did not believe that.”

After reading the Kingston man’s sentiments, fans in the comments section have been debating whether he could be the team’s ‘future captain’ or whether he is just ‘delusional’.

A Twitter user said: “These are the mentality we need, not those ‘we just want to be in the top 4’ mentality of some recent years.”

💬 “My ambitions now are to win with Arsenal again. It’s time to go one step bigger and win the Premier League, win the Champions League, and I wouldn’t be here if I did not believe that.” pic.twitter.com/BBXsQOAoqE

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 15, 2023

Another agreed and wrote: “We believed it before you came bro, thanks for believing in the Arsenal!”

A third called out those who are doubting The Gunners ahead of next season and said: “5 points away from the title but spending 100m to win the title is unrealistic. Some of you are really daft.”

Elsewhere, another user said: "He is a leader. He is a winner. He is going to massively increase and improve the dressing room atmosphere!"

However, not everyone has had a positive reaction to Rice's bold statement.

One fan wrote: “WHATTTT??? Win the Champions League???”, followed by a string of laughing emojis. “Blud (sic) thinks he’s in Chelsea or Manchester,” they continued.

A second Twitter user said: “April fools day came early I see.”

Another simply retweeted the sentiment and wrote: “The delusion.”

Furthermore, many Arsenal fans have already started championing Rice and are urging the North London team to, “Give him the armband now!”

“Love (sic) you Martin Odegaard. You have done nothing wrong !!! Honestly! But this is soon our new Captain,” said one user.

Another Gooner tweeted: “Future captain Declan Rice is and I can just see him in the dressing every game vocal and leading the team on to win many games this season.”