Declan Rice’s previous comments on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta prove why he is about to make the move across London. The West Ham midfielder has been glowing in his praise of the Gunners and their impressive manager.
Arsenal are finally set to seal a deal for Rice. After two bids worth up to £90million were rejected by West Ham, a fee has now been agreed upon.
Arsenal will pay an initial £100m with a further £5m in performance-related add-ons. Rice will become the most-expensive British player of all time and the Gunners’ record buy.
Chelsea and Manchester United had long been linked with a move for Rice. It only emerged at the turn of the year that Arsenal were interested in signing him.
A January move was never going to happen but he has always been their top target heading into the summer window. As a deal edges ever closer, comments Rice made about Arsenal last season become more prominent.
Arsenal came from behind to beat Rice’s West Ham on Boxing Day. Three second-half goals turned the game on its head after the Hammers led at half-time.
Arsenal continued to push their case as Premier League title challengers. And Rice was very much impressed with what he had seen from both the players and Arteta.
Asked if Arsenal are title contenders, Rice said: “100 per cent. I think they’re a top team, you can see they’re coached incredibly well, the attacking talent, it’s a young squad, they could go the whole way for sure. They’re a good team.
“We tried to stop them first half but it’s really hard. In the end, we come up short and it’s frustrating.”
Ultimately, Arsenal fell short and Rice’s West Ham had a big part to play in that. The Gunners led 2-0 at the London Stadium in April and seemed to be cruising to an important away win.
But West Ham did not give up and came back to draw 2-2, with Bukayo Saka missing a crucial penalty for the visitors. Arsenal fans will surely forgive Rice once he pulls on the famous red and white shirt.
He has been on holiday for the last couple of weeks after featuring in England’s two Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Personal terms are not set to be a problem and Rice is expected to complete his move in the coming days.
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