WATCH: Declan Rice sings Arsenal anthem ahead of win over Nottingham Forest

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The former West Ham midfielder was seen on camera singing along to North London Forever ahead of his debut on Saturday

Declan Rice in action for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest in August 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Declan Rice has already endeared himself to Arsenal fans after he was seen singing along to the Gunners' anthem ahead of a 2-1 win at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The England midfielder went straight into the starting XI following his £105 million summer switch from West Ham and impressed for Mikel Arteta's side at the Emirates Stadium.

Rice featured alongside Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz in a three-man midfield as Arsenal dominated the first half and went in 2-0 up at the break through Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka.

But the 24-year-old, who had spent his entire career at West Ham and helped the Hammers win the Europa Conference League last season, looked at home even before kick-off as he sang along to North London Forever.

Nottingham Forest threatened a late comeback as Taiwo Awoniyi netted with eight minutes left, but last season's runners-up held on for a 2-1 win in their first Premier League match of the season.

With Rice in midfield, Thomas Partey was used as a right-back by manager Mikel Arteta on Saturday. Jorginho spent the 90 minutes on the bench.

More Arsenal news

Arsenal are expected to tie up a deal to bring Brentford goalkeeper David Raya to north London in the next few days.

Meanwhile, two wingers are expected to leave the Gunners this month.

That could pave the way for another winger to join the club, with Barcelona's Ansu Fati sensationally linked with a move to north London this week.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.