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Arsenal have confirmed the signing of England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for a club-record fee of £105 million.The 24-year-old joined his new teammates ahead of the club’s pre-season U.S. tour next week.

The announcement of Rice’s signing brings to a close a protracted transfer from West Ham, where he won the Europa Conference League.

Rice is Arsenal’s third signing following the earlier acquisition of Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber.

“Declan is a player with fantastic ability and a proven record at both club and international levels,” Sporting Director Edu said.

“Declan is a high-quality, young international player who will add great strength to our squad, fitting so well into our strategy of competing with young talented players at the centre of our club,” he added.

On his part, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Rice brings undoubted quality to the club and has all the potential to succeed in his new club.

“Declan has great experience in the Premier League at only 24 years old. He has captained a very good West Ham team and as we all saw, he recently lifted a European trophy. The responsibility and role he has taken on has been very impressive and we are really excited that he is joining us,” Arteta said.

Rice expressed his joy bat linking up with his new teammates and said he was now looking forward to what lies ahead.

He also said he hoped he would be able to win more trophies with his new team.

“I just want to say it’s an absolute privilege to be a part of Arsenal Football Club. The history and the players that have played here speak for themselves. And now I have joined, we’ve got some other signings as well, we are looking to get Arsenal back to the big time, back to winning stuff,” the midfielder said.