(Football news) Declan Rice has been linked with a move away from West Ham for a very long time. Now the time has finally come for him to take the next step in his already successful career. It has come at a perfect time as last season he led the Hammers to the Europa Conference League. Declan Rice fits the Arsenal project perfectly alongside other young players at the core. He could prove to be an important final piece of the system that Mikel Arteta has been building for the past few seasons. Arsenal and West Ham have reportedly agreed a deal for a fixed fee of £100 million plus £5 million in add-ons.

Manchester City did enter the race at one point and even made an official bid of £80 million plus £10 million in add-ons. However, Arsenal always looked like favorites as they were in it for the longest time. City refused to enter a bidding war mainly because they don’t need a player like Declan Rice. Rodri is possibly the best defensive midfielder in the world and Kalvin Phillips is another player who is in the squad. Manchester City lost Ilkay Gundogan and have already signed Mateo Kovacic as a replacement. Arsenal have spent a lot of money on Declan Rice but that’s the situation of the market right now. 

Arsenal will sell Granit Xhaka this summer while the future of Thomas Partey is uncertain. If Partey does stay then he and Declan Rice would make a good pairing. Partey will then have the freedom to get forward and attack a little more. If Partey does leave then Arsenal will need to sign another midfielder. According to reports Mikel Arteta is planning to use Emile Smith Rowe more as a box-to-box midfielder which looks like a good plan. Centre-back Jurien Timber is another player who is close to joining Arsenal and he will be a good addition to the current squad.

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