West Ham agreed to Arsenal’s most recent transfer fee of £105 million for 24-year-old midfielder, Declan Rice, on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was top on Arsenal’s target list for this summer. Despite Manchester City’s efforts to secure the England international, Arsenal ends up bagging the deal.
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At the moment, the Gunners and the Hammers are having talks over the payment structure of the £105 million deal.
While we await Rice’s farewell move, a lot has been going on as fans share their take on his transfer as well as their expectations.
One of the persons who will be very pleased to see Rice Arive at the Emirates is a former teammate at West Ham, Jack Wilshere.
Wilshere, who is the current under-18 manager at Arsenal has fed the club’s boss Arteta with inside information about his newest acquisition.
Rice kept Wilshere out of West Ham’s starting XI during their time together at the Hammers’ stadium and it’s no news that the latter holds Rice in high regards.
Wilshere supported Rice to “go all the way” in his career back in April 2020 having been satisfied with Rice’s performance both on and off the football pitch.
Wilshere made the statement during a Q&A on Instagram when he was asked to name his favourite young Premier League player.
He replied: “You know what, there’s so many good young players.
“But the one that I get to see every day and I get to play with him, Dec. Declan Rice. He can go all the way, he’s unbelievable.
“Left foot, right foot and he’s a great lad. Love you, Dec!”
Wilshere will be expecting Rice to go all out with Arsenal.
The 24-year-old England international wanted to join Arsenal because he wished to stay in London and play in the Champions League.
As such, personal terms and his medicals wouldn’t pose a problem. Rice has an impressive CV.
He joined West Ham in 2014 after being released by Chelsea at age 14 and has since played over 200 Premier League matches.
He’s been named West Ham’s Hammer of the Year three times.
Rice had his peak moment as a Hammer earlier this month when he led his team to a 2-1 victory against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.
That marked the end of West Ham’s 43-year period without a major trophy.
At international level, Rice won three senior caps for the Republic of Ireland before changing his allegiance to England.
Since then, he’s won another 43 senior caps and helped his club reach the final of the Euro 2020, where they lost to Italy on penalties.
It’s glaringly obvious that Arsenal needs a new central midfielder. Granit Xhaka should be joining Bayer Leverkusen shortly.
Meanwhile, Thomas Partey might also depart the Emirates. Juventus and Saudi Arabian clubs are contesting for his signature.
Arsenal had already made one signing this summer in Kai Havertz.
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The 24-year-old German has signed a long-term deal with the Emirates after they handed Chelsea a £65 million fee.
Havertz scored the winner in 2021 Champions League final against Man City.
