‘A quick learner’: how Declan Rice went from Chelsea reject to Arsenal’s Rolls-Royce

Rob Draper Thu, 25 December 2025 at 9:00 am UTC·7 min read Declan Rice likes to call it “clean feedback”, which sounds like a euphemism for a bollocking, though he would probably say that is a misconception. Rather, it is part of the reason why Rice is being discussed as one of the best players in the world. “You can’t eff and blind, you can’t bully people,” says Terry Westley, the head of West Ham’s academy when Rice was there. “But we should be able to have a conversation and say: ‘Look, that ain’t quite good enough and we want to help you because this is what we need to do.’Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Declan Rice cranks up volume to show he is Europe’s best player...