While many Arsenal fans are understandably frustrated with the club’s approach to sign Declan Rice, they must understand that this isn’t a new phenomenon. While Manchester City may be interested in signing the Englishman too, this won’t stop Mikel Arteta from doing what he has always done.
CBS journalist Ben Jacobs has today confirmed that Arsenal have had this plan all along. It’s not often that their first bid is accepted to sign a player. In fact, Jacobs confirms that the first bid is almost always “indicative”. The low-ball approach often guarantees that the club gets the best bang for their buck, which as a fan, you have to respect.
🚨 @JacobsBen on Rice: “Arsenal have done what Arsenal always do - they’ve made multiple bids. I can’t think of many big transfers where Arsenal have had a first bid accepted - you have to understand that’s not because Arsenal never get a first bid accepted, it’s because the… pic.twitter.com/OGW3tGHkVC
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) June 26, 2023
For a transfer saga which is full of negativity on Arsenal’s end, this is an important reminder. The Gunners are not out of the reason, they are simply being prudent in their approach. Further, it’s not like West Ham will accept any bid without allowing the other club an opportunity to outbid that bid. For example, before accepting £100m from Man City, the Hammers will ask Mikel Arteta if he wishes to outbid.
Football is a business, and protocol is followed to make sure that each party has an even chance to bid. At the time of writing this, Arsenal have made two bids and City have made none (they’ve only planned to make one). Therefore, you could even say that Arteta is the only manager with an advanced interest in Rice.
If the best price is secured by the Emirates Stadium hierarchy, then it is their gradual and incremental bidding strategy which gets them that, let’s not forget.