Arsenal not signing Declan Rice this summer could be catastrophic for Mikel Arteta's plans at Emirates Stadium. The West Ham captain would a perfect addition to the young and exciting team being built in north London, but the Gunners face a serious threat from Manchester City.
Ahead of the summer window opening, Rice joining Arsenal appeared a foregone conclusion, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Man City focusing initially on other targets. However, Pep Guardiola has now made the decision to pursue Rice after Ilkay Gundogan opted to join Barcelona in a transfer that was announced on Monday, as opposed to signing a contract extension at Etihad Stadium.
In midfield, Man City have already agreed a £30million move for Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and now their efforts are on Rice with an opening bid expected this week. Meanwhile, Arsenal are preparing their third proposal to send to the Hammers and football.london understands that the Gunners will beat Man City to Rice if they either table an offer that exceeds £100million or one which guarantees a significant fee to be paid upfront.
Deals for Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber look to be edging closer, and that could give Arsenal a huge Rice boost, especially with Man City set to enter negotiations for a different target. RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol has agreed personal terms to join the treble winners, but discussions over a potential transfer fee are yet to even begin and those talks could take up a lot of time and use a significant amount of funds.
As Arsenal did with Mykhailo Mudryk, a list of possible alternatives to Rice has likely already been drawn up and includes Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. With it now a real possibility Rice isn't wearing an Arsenal shirt come the start of the Premier League season on August 12, a new name has potentially emerged on that list.
According to French outlet L'Equipe, Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana, who is valued at around €35m (£30m) by Les Monégasques via Get French Football News, is an option for the Gunners, amid interest from other English clubs. Chelsea and Liverpool had both kept tabs on his situation ahead of the summer, but now Newcastle and West Ham are the two teams monitoring the 24-year-old.
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Sandro Tonali joining Newcastle in a £60million move could spell the end of any enquiries, but the Hammers will most definitely be hunting a new holding midfielder. Fofana could immediately slot into Rice's position and if he joins Arsenal, it would be a win-win situation for all.
However, Man City acquiring the services of Rice could see Arsenal plot the ultimate hijack of one of David Moyes' possible replacements with another option in Edson Alvarez looking likely to join Borussia Dortmund and the Hammers being priced out of a move for Fulham's Joao Palhinha.
