“They should have bought him" - Pundit believes Chelsea should have signed Arsenal star before Moises Caicedo

Pundit Sam Allardyce reckons that Chelsea should have signed Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice before Moises Caicedo.

The Blues signed Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion for a British record transfer fee of £115 million in the summer. Allardyce, though, has said that they should have targeted Rice when the Englishman was playing for West Ham United.

Rice was in the Blues' academy between 2006 and 2013 but never made an appearance for Chelsea's senior team.

Speaking about Rice on the No Tippy Tappy Football, Allardyce said (via HITC):

“They should have done. They should have bought him. They should have bought Declan before Caicedo.”

While the Blues were linked with Rice, he ended up at Arsenal. Since his move to the Emirates, the Englishman has become one of the best players in Mikel Arteta's side. The 24-year-old is a constant presence at the heart of the Gunners' midfield. He has scored two goals and has provided two assists in 17 games across competitions this season.

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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice revealed David Beckham inspired his long-ranger goal against Chelsea

Arsenal and Chelsea played out a 2-2 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge on October 21. Declan Rice scored a spectacular long-range goal in that game after latching onto Robert Sanchez's misplaced pass. Rice's sweet strike from 40 yards out reached the back of an empty net.

The England international revealed that Manchester United legend David Beckham's famous half-way line goal against Wimbledon influenced him. He said (via GOAL):

"Everyone’s been talking about this Beckham documentary, and I watched it for the first time last night. The first couple of clips are the game against Wimbledon where he scored from the halfway line and I took a lot of belief from that."

Rice added:

"I was just thinking that it was bizarre that I watched it last night, and then obviously today taking that shot first time and scoring. It was a special goal to kickstart our comeback, you’ve got to keep shooting - if you shoot, you score!"

Rice has already become one of the key players in Arteta's team. The Gunners are fourth in the Premier League with 24 points from 11 matches. They will return to action against Burnley at home on November 11.