Chance to be a guaranteed starter in an upwardly mobile Arsenal side in the Champions League appeals to in-demand England midfielder.
This has been quite the month for Declan Rice. A few weeks ago he captained his club to theirfirst major trophy in 43 years, and now he has the three best teams in the Premier Leaguefighting for his signature. In the decades to come, he will surely look back at this as one of the defining periods of his life.
It must be exciting beyond measure, but also a little dizzying. Decision time is fast approaching and Rice, it seems, effectively has his pick of Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. Well, that is not quite true, as any potential buyer has to reach an agreement with West Ham United first, but it is obvious that Rice’s personal preference will be hugely important.
The key question for Arsenal, whohave been the frontrunners for months, is whether they can offer a more compelling package than City and United. Not just in terms of finances, but in terms of the sporting project. How do they compete with the Treble winners, coached by the world’s best manager, and the prospect of playing alongside the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish?
Let us put ourselves in the shoes of Mikel Arteta and Edu, Arsenal’s sporting director. What is the pitch to Rice? In many ways, it is quite straightforward: Come to Arsenal as the new record signing, and the team will be built around you. You will be a guaranteed starter every week, playing Champions League football, and you will be a senior member of the squad from the moment you walk thɾօυɢҺ the doors.
Arsenal are a team on an upward trajectory, too. Surround yourself with players of a similar age, all of whom have potential to grow, and see what might be possible as this group develops as one. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, William Saliba — imagine how far these players can go if they stay together for the next five years.
City can blow Arsenal’s bid out of the water
We know this is an attractive proposition to Rice. For some time now, Arsenal have been confident that the England international wants to stay in London and join them. The issue has been finding an agreement with West Ham (so far, two bids have been rєjєƈτed) rather than convincing Rice that the Emirates Stadium would be the right fit.
But here come City, looming over the situation like a behemoth blocking the sun. At the time of writing, the champions are preparing to submit a bid to West Ham. Financially, there is no contest between them and Arsenal: Asɾєρօɾτed by Telegraph Sport earlier this month, their Treble earned them almost £300 million in prize money. If City want to blow Arsenal’s offer out of the water, they can.
Every player in world football would be tempted by the thought of playing for Pep Guardiola, and joining City is as good a guarantee of winning trophies as Rice could ever hope to find. At the Etihad he would be surrounded by many of his England team-mates and one can only imagine how envious he has been of their post-Treble celebrations in recent weeks.
But can City offer the same level of seniority as Arsenal? Rice would have to compete with Rodri, De Bruyne and new signing Mateo Kovacic for a place in the side. That is no guarantee of game time andthe case of Kalvin Phillips, Rice’s England team-mate, is hardly an encouraging one.
United’s presence in this race must also be considered, especially as they are also pushing to sign Mason Mount, Rice’s best friєɴԀ. Telegraph Sport ɾєⱱєɑłєԀ this week that United are considering rivalling Arsenal and City byproposing a player-plus-cash Ԁєɑłthat could involve Harry Maguire or Scott McTominay.
Few players have ever been in a situation like this, with last season’s top three teams all hoping to spєɴԀ huge sums of money on them. Rice and his family are in a wonderful position, and he deserves to be there after years of impressive performances at West Ham.
But it is certainly not an easy position, and the 24-year-old will know that these next few days will shape the course of his entire career.
