LONDON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Arsenal's record-breaking signing Declan Rice asked fans to give him time to adapt to the club before justifying the massive transfer fee the club paid to sign him.

Arsenal paid an English record of 105 million pounds (135 million U.S. dollars) to sign the England international from West Ham, breaking their own club record by 33 million pounds over the 72 million pounds they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe.

"That's a price tag that is now attached to me. I just try to play football and enjoy myself. I don't try to put any added pressure on me. Me being myself is what's got me here. That isn't going to change now I'm at Arsenal," said the midfielder in an interview with ESPN.

The 24-year-old said he would "still do the things I have done," but said he would also "do things differently that (Arsenal coach) Mikel (Arteta) wants me to do."

He said he hoped to play for Arsenal "in my stride and try not to put myself under any pressure. In football it is easy to do that. I think it is important that we are constantly open to learning and wanting to improve."

Rice accepting that it was obvious his performances would be judged "on the price tag," but asked supporters to give him time to adapt. "Don't judge me after two or three weeks. Hopefully at the end, that's why I've come to Arsenal because I want to be a success and I want this club to be a success," he commented. Enditem

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