Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has declared Declan Rice their "lighthouse".

The £105m signing from West Ham had his first training session with Arsenal on Monday.

Arteta said: “What we are getting with Declan is his leadership, his aura.

“I see him like a lighthouse, that he is willing to put light in others and improve others and make the team better. And that is a huge quality.

“The way he talks and presents himself and the ambition he has, and the passion towards the game, is exactly what we needed.

"He is going to bring the team to a different dimension."

Arteta, 41, added: “The pressure is on us now. After what we did last year, a lot of people are going to talk about what is next — and we made some important signings.

“It's nothing different to others but when you are Arsenal you have to handle that."

The Spaniard also said: "He has the physical qualities we were missing for a while as well. That is why we had to do what we had to do, because it was really important for us to get him.

"Last season we were discussing how he could evolve the team and how he could complement the players that we already have and give us more flexibility and quality and depth.

"We feel he can also take that winning hunger into the team with players who really want to push themselves to a different level.

"What we have done this summer improves the squad significantly."