Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta “confident” about signing £75m star

Arsenal are planning ahead for the summer transfer window already. Although the manager, training staff and playing staff are all focused on taking it one game at a time, the recruitment team aren’t resting on their laurels when deciphering the perfect strategy for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Despite West Ham United demanding a record-breaking fee, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is “quietly confident” he can sign Declan Rice for £75m. That’s according to Ben Jacobs, who has been following this transfer saga closely, when speaking to GiveMeSport.

The journalist claims that it won’t be easy sailing for the Gunners, despite their confidence. They’ll face strong competition in Chelsea who, of course, have the financial edge. On that not, Jacobs also claims that Arsenal won’t be dragged into a bidding war and certainly won’t be forced into overspending.

Declan Rice is a phenomenal player who is tipped to be the right player to come in under Arteta. He can play as a deep-lying midfielder but also suits playing as part of a back three if required – although this isn’t Arteta’s style.

Currently playing the “defensive midfielder” role is Thomas Partey. I put this into quotation marks because describing Partey as defensive midfielder is reductionist since he does so much more than that. He reads play, he spreads passes and he dribbles well. Therefore, he’s more an anchor between defence, midfield and attack.

These attributes are shared by Rice, so he’d do a great job but he’d find it difficult to break into the current Arsenal midfield. I’m sure he could easily stake a claim if he performs better than what’s available, but Partey and Xhaka have formed a great relationship in the heart of midfield.

Do you think Arsenal are right to be confident about signing Declan Rice from West Ham United?