Arsenal appear to have won the race to sign £100million star Declan Rice.
With Bayern Munich pulling out of the chase after learning the West Ham captain would prefer to remain in London and Manchester United preoccupied by other targets, the Gunners have a clear run to get the deal done.
But the key thing here is that Rice actively wants to join Arsenal, suggesting they are an attractive destination for top class players once again.
It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to say that. Amid other big name suitors, players are choosing to sign for Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus had interest from Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur when he left Manchester City last year but Arsenal presented the only serious offer.
Arsenal are leading the race to sign West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice for £100m
Rice is expected to move on from West Ham after winning the Europa Conference League
Arsenal challenged for the Premier League title last season but ultimately fell short to Man City
Indeed, you probably have to go back to 2014 when Alexis Sanchez opted for the Gunners ahead of Liverpool and Juventus after leaving Barcelona for the last time a top-class player picked them over rivals of similar standing.
But now they could well be a ‘destination club’ once again like under their Arsene Wenger heyday.
While Mikel Arteta’s wonderfully entertaining team gave winning the Premier League title a good shot, they were clearly inferior to eventual champions Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta is turning Arsenal into a force again and Rice opting to play for them ahead of Manchester United and Bayern Munich is a positive sign
Signing Rice is a clear indication that Arsenal intend to bridge that gap and owners Kroenke Sports Entertainment [KSE] clearly feel the direction of travel is forwards and are willing to invest.
Midfield was a priority area to strengthen this summer and signing Rice has the class to take them to the next level.
This isn’t a sudden decision by Arsenal. They first lodged their interest in signing Rice back in the winter but West Ham only really confirmed their intention to let him leave last week.
That came after Rice captained them to the Europa Conference League, a first piece of major European silverware since 1965. It was the perfect point to sign off on, with his contract up next year anyway.
From the midfielder’s point of view, United could be a more desirable destination in terms of club stature and probably salary. Moving to Germany to play for Bayern, meanwhile, is as close to a guarantee of winning silverware as football can provide.
His choice of Arsenal, however, shows how they’re now viewed as a club with an upwards trajectory again, rather than of being stagnant.
The offer of Champions League football next season helps, with Arsenal back in Europe’s top competition for the first time since 2016-17. But that was available to him elsewhere.
The prospect of being the next piece in Arteta’s jigsaw proved appealing to him. Rice, 24, joins a core of exciting young players at Arsenal approaching their prime years and confident of success.
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke appears willing to splash out a club record transfer fee for Rice
West Ham chief David Sullivan (right) revealed that Rice had turned down a new deal at the London Stadium just 18 months ago and said the midfielder would be allowed to leave
This building process has been ongoing since Arteta arrived in December 2019 and was given the patience to reconstruct Arsenal into a force, even if they finished a lowly eighth on two occasions.
In 2020, Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey arrived but it was still an incoherent transfer strategy as the signings of Willian, Cedric Soares, Pablo Mari and Runar Alex Runarsson showed.
But in 2021, things really started to take shape. £143million was spent, a not inconsiderable sum, but on younger players. Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard have become regulars and integral to Arteta’s revolution.
Last summer’s additions of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko for a combined £78m added winning experience and they’ll now strengthen further with Rice, whose ball recovery skills, passing and dribbling under pressure are excellent.
But paying nine figures for him, if it comes to that, is still one hell of a statement. Arsenal’s club-record outlay for a player is £72m, for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Rice was seen embracing Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after arriving at England camp as speculation continues to link him with the Gunners
Rice was also pictured greeting Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka after arriving in the canteen
Saka and Rice enjoyed a playful encounter as the winger attempted to catch the midfielder
The promise of Champions League cash explains the willingness to splash out, likewise the signs of progress. Another factor is that their direct rivals in the Premier League won’t stand still.
City won’t need extensive surgery but they’re hardly likely to rest on their laurels with three trophies to defend. Pep Guardiola will be eying up a historic Quadruple next season.
Alexis Sanchez was probably the last world class talent to actively choose Arsenal over their rivals when he signed from Barcelona back in 2014
Manchester United are potentially only a reliable striker away from a serious challenge under Erik ten Hag, Newcastle are a coming force with the financial clout to compete for top players, while Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham surely won’t be as poor again.
Arsenal don’t want their title challenge to be a mere flash in the pan followed by a retreat to what had become more familiar positions of fourth or fifth.
Arteta needs greater strength in depth to juggle domestic commitments with the demands of the Champions League.
Yet unwanted players – Pepe included – will have to be sold to raise funds to bolster other areas.
Another reason for Arsenal spending larger sums is that the £390m cost of the Emirates Stadium has almost been paid off.
Figures released just after the Covid pandemic showed Kroenke still owed £144m to bondholders in stadium debt, which was restructured in July 2020.
But the Emirates is no longer the millstone around the club’s neck it once was, something which frustrates Wenger’s attempts to build competitive teams in his final years there.
All of which loosens the pursestrings to buy players like Rice – helped of course by Arsenal being an attractive option from the players’ perspective once again.
