Last year, Declan Rice and his current Arsenal teammate, Nketiah, were involved in a scuffle during a Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham.
The altercation occurred when Nketiah attempted to waste time while Arsenal was in the lead.
Rice acknowledged the incident but assured that their relationship has since improved, stating that all is well between them now.
He expressed excitement about the opportunity to play alongside his new teammate.
Speaking to Arsenal’s official website, Rice said, “I played with Eddie from under-nines to under-14s. We were both released on the same day and it’s crazy where football takes you, your journey.
“He’s made it through the ranks at Arsenal, I made it through the ranks at West Ham. Now we get to link back up again.
“I’ve always loved Eddie, even though we had that little altercation on the pitch before! I’ve always loved him and been close to his family. His dad is a top, top guy who used to come on all the tours with us as kids, so I’m really looking forward to seeing Eddie again and of course the other boys.”
Rice and Nketiah were part of the Chelsea academy and were released from the Blues’ youth setup on the same day.
The midfielder, who completed a move to Arsenal on Saturday for a club-record transfer fee of £105m ($137m), is now looking forward to a reunion with the Arsenal striker.
Mikel Arteta’s charges have started their pre-season training and played two friendly games on July 8 and July 13 against Watford and Nurnberg.
They will now travel to the USA to face Manchester United, Barcelona and Monaco.