Arsenal fans have hit out at their club, claiming that they have ‘bottled’ the chance to sign Declan Rice, after reports emerged today that Manchester City would be lining up an offer for the England midfielder.
The London side have long been admirers of the West Ham captain, who led his team to European glory earlier this month in Prague, with the Gunners now having several bids rejected for the midfielder.
Mail Sport revealed on Tuesday that David Moyes’ side had rejected a second £90million bid (£75m in cash, £15m in add ons) for Rice, but it is understood that Arsenal will return with a third offer and are willing to meet David Sullivan’s £100m valuation.
But, following Ilkay Gundogan’s move to Barcelona, Pep Guardiola’s side are now looking for a replacement and the 24-year-old could fit that bill, with West Ham also previously showing an interest in a deal with City that could see Kalvin Phillips move in the other direction.
For the Citizens, who according to The Athletic are ‘seriously interested in Rice’, that could be a lucrative way to reduce his hefty price tag but would be bad news for Arsenal.
Manchester City are preparing a bid for Declan Rice later today according to reports
It comes after Arsenal have now had two bids rejected for the star midfielder with Mikel Arteta (right) and sporting director Edu (left) gearing up to submit another bid closer to £100m
Fans have slammed the Gunners online with some calling them ‘bottlers’ after they failed to land Mykhailo Mudryk in January
Should City acquire Rice, it would be a huge blow for the Gunners, particularly at this stage, after they had been heavily linked with the midfielder for such a long time.
And some supporters have chosen to slam the north London outfit on Twitter for failing to wrap up the deal, with some claiming that this is deja vu, after Chelsea hijacked a move for Mykhailo Mudryk from under their noses in January.
One wrote: ‘Yeah Rice is going to City, second bottle in a row for Arsenal,’ while another slammed the club’s sporting director saying, ‘Edu and co have bottled this transfer once again, it seems. This is turning out to be Mudryk 2.0 very fast.’
‘If Arsenal bottles this then it’s over, can’t defend them again truth be told. Arsenal fans need to face reality if we bottle this transfer we are done & dusted,’ another said.
Fans took aim at the Gunners on Twitter amid the news that Man City were joining the race to sign Rice
Arteta’s side notably matched Chelsea’s £88m bid to secure the Ukrainian in January. But Shakhtar CEO, Sergei Palkin told The Athletic that the bid was similar to those offered for Rice, comprising of a £62m cash offer along with £26m in add-ons.
The deal fell through for Arsenal, with the Shakhtar CEO admitting Chelsea’s add-ons were ‘much more achievable and realistic’ while also revealing the club’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali and their representatives held talks for over 10 hours to thrash out a deal.
Arsenal were also torn apart online after they conceded the Premier League title to Manchester City earlier this season, with many again branding them as ‘bottlers.’
One person even jokingly posted a picture of a plastic bottle on Twitter, and in reference to the Rice news, wrote: ‘No way they bottled again when you are once a bottler you will always be a bottler.’
Another said: ‘If Rice goes to City Edu got to go,’ and followed the Tweet with several clown emojis.
Rice (left) is being linked to several clubs including Manchester United who are preparing a player-plus-cash deal for the midfielder
But Pep Guardiola’s (pictured) side also look set to make a move for the West Ham captain as they look to replenish their midfield stocks following the departure of Ilkay Gundogan
Arsenal, meanwhile, have agreed a £65m deal for Chelsea’s 24-year-old midfielder Kai Havertz
Granit Xhaka is set to leave the club this summer while Thomas Partey has been linked with a move away from the club to Saudi Arabia.
The Gunners have agreed a £65m deal for 24-year-old midfielder Kai Havertz, but some fans have called on their club to go in for Moises Caicedo instead of Rice, with the Ecuadorian also set to be a highly sought after by many other clubs this summer.
‘Stop this Declan Rice nonsense and go in for Caicedo. He is the Partey replacement. Not Declan Rice,’ another fan added on Twitter.
If Arsenal are to sign Rice, they will also have to compete with Manchester United who yesterday were said to be preparing a ‘player-plus-cash deal’ that would likely include either Harry Maguire or Scott McTominay.
