Dec’s delight at his own season

Declan Rice claims his Arsenal season went better than expected.

Last summer’s £105million recruit delivered his glowing verdict to Gunners’ co-chairman Josh Kroenke straight after Manchester City pipped Mikel Arteta’s men to the title.

The England anchorman, 25, helped Arsenal land a 2-1 comeback win at home to Luton yesterday.

The ex-West Ham skipper told NBC Sports: “I was just speaking to Josh Kroenke on the pitch.

“I said, ‘It’s been everything I expected’ – the class levels of the club is just phenomenal from top to bottom.

“How everything is run. How all the staff are. How the manager runs the club. From top to bottom it is an amazing place.

“I knew there would be expectations coming here. It’s Arsenal and they’ve not won the Premier League in 20 years, just back in the Champions League.

“I’ve tried not to put too much pressure on myself and take it game-by-game. In football, you get confidence from games, and as the season went on we grew more and more.

“It’s been better than I ever expected it to be, my first season, and there is so much more to come from me as well.”