How ￡105m Arsenal transfer helped Rice step up ‘three levels’

Declan Rice England 2026 World Cup

Declan Rice’s £105 million ($139m) switch to Arsenal is considered to have helped him step up “two or three levels”, with ex-England captain Terry Butcher telling GOAL why a big-money transfer helped a Three Lions star of the present to join the global elite. Rice is considered to sit inside that talent pool as a Premier League title winner, World Cup hopeful, Ballon d’Or contender and future skipper of his country.

Crystal Palace v Arsenal - Premier League

West Ham to Arsenal: Rice has transformed his game

The all-action 27-year-old has come a long way from humble beginnings. Having been released by Chelsea as a youngster, his senior breakthrough came at West Ham as questions were asked of whether he was a holding midfielder or combative centre-half.

Rice is now a box-to-box performer that has added more goals to his game and considerable assist threat with his delivery from set-pieces. He is no longer pigeonholed in one position and is being lauded as one of the very best in the business.

How Arsenal move benefitted future England captain

How did Rice reach this point and what role did his move to Emirates Stadium play in unlocking full potential? When those questions were put to Butcher, the former England skipper - speaking in association with the Domino’s ‘Shirtiette’ campaign - told GOAL of a man that is expected to fill the Three Lions' armband at some point: “I found when I moved from Ipswich to Rangers in ‘86, the club I moved to had won more things than the club that I came from.

“Obviously with Rangers, they had the crowds and the history and moving from West Ham to Arsenal, you can see that Arsenal have won a lot of things as well. You feel like you step up another two or three levels because it's so much bigger, so much different.

“I know West Ham are having a poor time at the moment, a hard time at the moment, but Arsenal have always been there, particularly with Arsene Wenger winning trophies and doing very well in Europe.

“For me going to Rangers, it was like, ‘well, I've got to really raise my game now’. It does make you play better. It does make you raise the game because everybody wants to beat you even more so than before.

“You play for West Ham and it’s, ‘well, we can beat West Ham’. And then you play for Arsenal and you're like, ‘well, they can smash us five or six’. You mentally have to step up another level too.

“And that goes hand in hand, the mental side and the physical side, but the mental side, especially where you have much more responsibility. Like being captain of England, that responsibility just triples or at least five times more than what it was before at club level.

“I think Declan is one that, he's come onto the global stage now. He plays in a great position.

He gets forward and he can get back. He can play in different roles. He's a great example of a leader driving through that midfield.

“And particularly when you've got Harry Kane up front as well, we've got a couple of really good leaders there that if they were to say things and get players going, then they would listen.”

Terry Butcher Domino's Shirtiette 2026

Can England bring 60 years of hurt to a close in 2026?

Rice helped Arsenal to bring their 22-year wait for Premier League title glory to a close in 2026 - forming part of the first Gunners team to lift that trophy since the fabled ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04.

He is now aiming to emulate more legends on the international stage, with England in North America looking to bring 60 years of hurt to a close. Can they achieve that? Butcher, who aided the Three Lions' run to the semi-final stage of FIFA’s flagship event in 1990, said: “Everybody's pointed fingers at England saying, ‘when it comes to the knockout stages, we don't beat teams that are in the top 10 and we don't do the necessary thing’.

“If you're going to win the World Cup, you've got to beat the best teams. I think we're better equipped now to do that. I think the Ghana game gave Thomas Tuchel a big indication of what his team is and what his best team is.

“There's lots of players that are sometimes just waiting, like [Bukayo] Saka waiting to come on and start the games. Saka came on and had a great shot, but it was a great save by the Ghanaian keeper. So he's one that can unlock the door, but I'd like to see him start. I think he's not far away from starting.”

England told they can beat the best sides on the planet

Butcher went on to say, as he actively encourages supporters to make a mess during wild celebrations back home: “We looked at Croatia and we all said it was one of the best games we've ever seen from England. I'm sure there was everything flying about in that game. I think it's just that joy, that unbridled joy of England scoring in the World Cup and beating teams that are really good teams.

“And teams will come out - the Brazils, the Frances and the Spanish and Germans, everybody else, they'll come out and attack England because they feel they have to, they want to, they have the players that can do that, which would obviously then make it a much more open game.

“I think when we get to the knockout stages, that's when England really should come alive. I think they have the ammunition and the manager as well, that's going to push them all away. If we fail, it won't be for the want of trying.

“This squad, it does excite me, but the manager, I get to like the manager more and more because of what he says and what he does and how he reacts. He gets angry on the sidelines when things don't go well. But then he's good with the press and he speaks to the players really well and he demands a hell of a lot from them, which is what you expect every England manager to do. So knockout stage, really looking forward to it. I think we can beat what's thrown at us. I think we really can.”

England will complete their Group L campaign when facing Panama in New Jersey on Saturday. They are already assured of a place in the last-32, but need to determine in which position they will progress. The plan is to keep giving a loyal fan base plenty to get excited about.

2026 World Cup: Wild celebrations being encouraged

Watching football can be a messy business, so Domino’s has created the ‘Shirtiette’ – a football shirt made from actual serviette material, designed for fans to wear food and drink stains with pride this summer. The pizza brand is giving the shirts away free to England and Scotland fans, so they can get messy on matchdays, embracing spills during goal celebrations, penalty misses or VAR rage.

The shirts are purpose-built from absorbent napkin material, so fans can soak up pizza sauce spillages, mozzarella mishaps and topping tumbles while watching the games at home. The ‘Shirtiette’ is available via www.dominosshirtiette.com, where England and Scotland fans can apply to claim a limited-edition England or Scotland ‘Shirtiette’.