Arsenal’s top summer target praises Gunners to his teammates

CBS Sports report that Declan Rice has been speaking to teammates about Arsenal with effusive praise behind the scenes, admitting he’s stunned with the progress the Gunners have made.

The report adds that Rice’s camp have been planning a move away from West Ham, with Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea all in the race.

But United now have Casemiro, and Chelsea are unlikely to secure Champions League football this season – a key factor for Rice.

As a result, Arsenal are now confident they can win the race for the midfielder in the summer market.

On Monday afternoon, The Times broke the news that Arsenal had made West Ham’s Declan Rice their top summer target, and that they’re growing in confidence they can beat Chelsea to the signing.

West Ham are expected to have to sell in the summer because Rice’s deal expires in 2024 and he’s been unwilling to sign a new one. They do have an option to extend by a year, so the transfer is still expected to cost around £80m.

The Telegraph claim part of the reason Arsenal didn’t want to overpay for Mudryk is that they didn’t want to disrupt their summer plans – which seemingly includes this big-money deal for Rice.

Rice himself seems confident Arsenal will at least make it back into the Champions League this year, telling the media in December that the Gunners can “100%” win the Premier League.

The Athletic confirm that Arsenal are planning a move for Rice, and the Gunners are now increasingly optimistic of winning the race ahead of their Premier League rivals.

West Ham won’t sell this month, but admit internally that they’ll have to sell this summer to get good value.