Fabrizio Romano states a condition Arsenal must meet to sign Declan Rice

Declan Rice of West Ham United (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Declan Rice of West Ham United (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Times are very exciting for Arsenal fans right now. In today’s Arsenal transfer news, we revealed that the Gunners received a significant boost to sign Declan Rice, with their only competition Manchester City pulling out of the race. It’s very rare to see the North London side outbid their competitors – particularly when their competitors are financially huge like City.

Arsenal must meet ONE condition to sign Declan Rice

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the deal is “very close” to completion. There is just one condition which Arsenal must meet before West Ham agree to the deal. Apparently The Hammers want the guaranteed £100m fee to be paid within 18 months, different to the original financial package which stated four years. If this is something Mikel Arteta can agree to, the deal looks likely to progress.

It’s been no secret that Declan Rice was the transfer priority at the Emirates Stadium. Other midfield options like Moises Caicedo, Ilkay Gundogan and Ruben Neves, have popped up but never anything as substantial as Rice.

The deal makes sense too. Rice is the perfect player to play in midfielder under a Mikel Arteta system. Not only is he versatile in the midfield approach he can take, he is likely to play in the midfield pivot, previously vacated by Thomas Partey. Now, all Arteta must focus on is to sign a box-to-box midfielder who can fill the void left by Granit Xhaka.

Certainly Declan Rice will be a starter for Arsenal. Not only is he an investment for the future, he will definitely stake his claim in the first team almost immediately.

Do you think Arsenal will sign Declan Rice?