Arsenal star Declan Rice has poked fun at the fact he has already lost his title as the Premier League’s most expensive player of the summer following Chelsea’s £115million deal for Moises Caicedo.

Just over a month ago, the Gunners and West Ham reached an agreement for the England international. The sum was a club record, and if add-ons are successful, the overall package will surpass the British record of £100 million paid by Manchester City for Jack Grealish.

However, Chelsea outdid Arsenal by ultimately luring Caicedo away from Brighton last week, beating out opposition from Liverpool to win a £115 million move – setting a new Premier League transfer record. Chelsea had already paid £107 million on Enzo Fernandez in January.

Rice, who gave an excellent display as 10-man Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Monday night, has already seen his mammoth transfer fee put in the shade by Caicedo but he can see the funny side.

Sky Sport Presenter David Jones asked that: “I can’t believe Caicedo has broken your record [transfer fee] already though, Declan?”

When the Ecuadorian’s record move – which eclipsed his own price tag – was brought up, Rice burst out laughing and told Sky Sports: ‘I had it up on the wall for two weeks! It’s come down already!’

The England midfielder’s price tag was gazumped by Caicedo

While Caicedo had a horror debut, giving away a late penalty against Rice’s old club West Ham on Sunday, the England star was in fine form at Selhurst Park and says he was partly motivated by a desire to show he was worth the money Arsenal paid.

He continued: ‘Before the game tonight, I was on the way to the game and I just thought, “Just go out there and have it tonight, try and put on a show”.

‘Even in the warm up I just felt an energy that I wanted to go out there and perform. I was just really up for it, to be honest with you.

‘Only two games in, obviously there’s so much talk about the price tag and me playing for Arsenal, and I want to keep proving people wrong, keep proving that I can play at the top and keep putting in top performances.

‘So I’ll keep my feet on the ground, keep listening to everyone around me, and keep pushing.’

Rice delivered an excellent performance against Crystal Palace