- Keane gives his opinion on Rice
- 'Not worth over £100 million'
- Rice in action for Arsenal in Community Shield
WHAT HAPPENED? The former Manchester United captain did not mince his words while speaking about new Arsenal signing Declan Rice, who joined the Gunners from West Ham for a record £105m ($137m) fee earlier this summer.
While Keane did speak highly of Rice's physicality, he suggested that the Gunners paid a lot more money than they should have for the England international .
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking on ITV, ahead of Arsenal's Community Shield clash against Manchester City, Keane said: "He is obviously going to be surrounded by better players, different demands. If he is going to play a little higher up the pitch, I can think he definitely has that quality in terms of getting at more goals to him, he's obviously got that physical strength, he can get in the box.
"They have obviously paid way too much for him. He's certainly not worth over £100 million! But a really good player. We will find out over the next year or two how good Declan is. He turns up every week, he is a big strong boy. We have talked about that physicality, they lacked that in the last month or two. Has he got that really top quality in terms of seeing a pass and getting nine or 10 goals? We'll soon find out."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Rice started for Arsenal against Manchester City in the Community Shield. Since officially joining the club on July 15, Rice featured in three out of the four friendly matches the club played in the U.S.
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WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL? Mikel Arteta's side begin their Premier League 2023-24 journey on August 13 against Nottingham Forest.