Mark Noble has tipped Declan Rice for the Arsenal captaincy and feels the Gunners are more than capable of lifting this year’s Premier League trophy.
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Rice moved to north London from West Ham in a £105m deal this summer as Arsenal look to improve on their second-placed finish last term after missing out on the title to Manchester City, despite been top of the table for 248 days.
Many are predicting Arsenal to push City all the way again and Rice himself has spoken openly about the Gunners going ‘one better’ than last season, as the England international looks to help land their first top-flight title since 2004.
Noble has a very close relationship with Rice – seeing him as both a ‘brother’ and ‘son’ – and the West Ham sporting director, who spent his entire playing career with the east London club before retiring last year, feels he is worth every penny.
‘Dec was not only my former team-mate, he was like a brother, at times like a son when he would come to me for advice,’ Noble told Metro.co.uk. ‘I just want to see him happy. He lifted a trophy for West Ham and he was incredible for us.
‘I think there was a time when we sort of knew he would go at some point, for a record fee. He deserves it, because he is a top player and a top person. I think he is worth the money, I really do.
‘You know what you’re getting with him. It’ll be strange to see him line up in an Arsenal shirt when he plays against us but I think most West Ham fans wish him the best, because he was a great player for us.
‘He’s someone we brought through the academy and he’ll always be remembered. He was really loved here.’
Former Hammers skipper Rice is yet to make his professional appearance for Arsenal but is already being suggested as a future captain of the club.
Rice is renowned for his strong leadership qualities and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has no problem with a younger player leading the pack, handing 24-year-old Martin Odegaard the captaincy after less than two years with the Gunners.
Quizzed if Rice, who is the same age as Odegaard, could take the armband within a season or two, Noble said: ‘I have no doubt. I think one day he will be England captain as well, just because of his mannerisms, the way he speaks in the press, the way he plays, he is born for that.
‘I have no doubt about that. You have seen the way Mikel Arteta, Edu and the Arsenal owners have done it over the last three or four years, they have invested heavily in young players for the future.
‘You look at their squad now, it is an incredible young squad. Young, athletic and talented players and they are going to be a really good team this year. There is every chance they give Man City a run for their money again, because they’re such a talented squad.’
Pep Guardiola’s team have won the Premier League in five of the last six seasons but Noble is not ruling out Arsenal, although hailed City as an ‘incredible’ side and warned that rivals such as Chelsea and Manchester United look stronger.
‘I think they (Arsenal) can win the league, of course,’ Noble added. ‘They went so close last year. You’ve got an incredible team in Man City with an incredible manager so it will be tough.
‘There’s lots of teams around them this year, I think Chelsea and Manchester United will be strong, Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp will always be strong. Newcastle, they got Champions League football.
‘It’s going to be a tough season but Arsenal have definitely got enough, with the money they’ve spent and players they have brought in, to have a right go at it.’
Noble will soon lace up his boots and return to the pitch for the Game4Ukraine charity match at Stamford Bridge on August 5 – a special event to raise funds for war-torn Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country.
The match will feature huge names including former footballers Robert Pires, Claude Makelele, Antonio Valencia, Clarence Seedorf and a bunch of celebrities while legendary manager Arsene Wenger takes charge of ‘Team Zinchenko’.
Asked about how he got involved in the event, Noble said: ‘I got a message from Oleksandr Zinchenko. He asked me if I wanted to play. Because I spent a few years in the dressing room with Andriy Yarmolenko, who played for West Ham, when it happened and Ukraine got invaded, we could see the pain and worry.
‘His family – his wife and kids – were in Ukraine at the time and it was really stressful for him. But I’ll never forget that he kept coming in, played games and scored some really important goals for us when he was going through so much.
‘So as soon as I was asked, I thought about him doing that for West Ham. He scored really important goals for us against Sevilla and Aston Villa and you could see the emotion on his face.
‘What a man. There was no chance I was passing this up because of what he did for me, and for us.’
Noble has been keeping himself fit and cannot wait to play alongside the likes of Pires and Patrick Vieira.
‘I train a lot, I keep myself fit, I train with the young boys (at West Ham) and I’m in the gym, so yeah,’ Noble added. ‘But listen, it’s not about that, it’s about awareness and raising money. It’ll be a great day I’m sure.
‘I spoke to Gianfranco Zola yesterday, he’s still fit as anything. I think it’ll be a good occasion, it’ll be a bit of a laugh, and it means kids can see their heroes.
‘I played golf with Andriy Shevchenko and he was telling me about the players that were coming, I said, ‘Andriy, why have you invited me to come? There’s all these legends playing’ – he laughed and told me to shut up! But yeah, I am looking forward to it.
‘Players like Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira, these are Premier League legends who I grew up watching. It’s a fantastic occasion and to draw in the names they have done is pretty special. It’s for a fantastic cause, there’s some unbelievable names and players. It’ll be fun and it will be great for charity.’
Game4Ukraine will broadcast Live on Sky Max on Saturday 5th August at 5-9pm. Buy tickets and donate now at: www.game4ukraine.com.
MORE : Declan Rice eyes up Premier League trophy and hails Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka
MORE : Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko wins diversity award for anti-war work amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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