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Paul Ince can’t believe Arsenal were allowed to sign ‘world class’ player
Arsenal’s recruitment in recent years has propelled them to a new stratosphere.
Indeed, Arsenal have focused on signing talented young players in recent times, and that policy is now paying dividends.
William Saliba is the best defender in the world according to some, Martin Odegaard has been a fantastic addition to this team, while Gabriel Martinelli continues to improve.
Declan Rice has become a ‘world class’ player in recent times, and Rice was certainly a transformative signing when he arrived at the Emirates.
However, even two years on, there’s a feeling that Arsenal shouldn’t have been the team to win the race for Rice.
Rio Ferdinand reckons Rice wanted to sign for Man Utd instead, while Teddy Sheringham believes Rice would’ve signed for United if Alex Ferguson was still the manager.
Speaking to , Paul Ince has made a similar sort of claim about Rice, claiming that United should’ve been in for Rice, questioning how Arsenal were allowed to get this deal done without meaningful competition.
Paul Ince can’t believe Man United allowed Arsenal to sign Declan Rice
Ince spoke about United and the players they’ve missed out on over the years.
The former England captain questioned how Arsenal were allowed to sign Rice so easily, querying why United weren’t in the market for him, asking if they were even looking in the right places.
“If you picked your best 11 players from the Premier League, you wouldn’t have one United player in there. And you probably could have said that in the last six or seven years. How can Liverpool go and sign the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, and Arsenal get Declan Rice?
“Why haven’t United been in the market for them? Are they looking in the right places? I don’t think they are right now, so it’s a big summer for everyone involved at the club, that’s for sure.”
Who did Manchester United sign instead of Declan Rice?
Manchester United were in the market for a new defensive midfielder in summer 2023, but they went in a different direction at the time.
Indeed, while Declan Rice was available that summer, United went for what they believed to be a more tried and tested option as they spent £70m to sign Casemiro.
Casemiro’s CV was, of course, much better than Rice’s at the time, but the Brazilian was heading into the twilight years of his career, and that has shown.
Casemiro has been criticised since joining United, and it’s fair to say that Rice has outshone the Brazilian ever since making their respective moves.
United seriously took their eye off the ball in allowing Arsenal to sign Rice ahead of them.