Arsenal have been told they face another potential transfer hijacking this summer similar to that of Mykhailo Mudryk in January. The Gunners monitored a switch for the Ukraine international and eventually placed offers to Shakhtar Donetsk to attempt to get a move over the line.
The north London outfit had a figure in mind when it came to reaching a maximum offer, but they were eventually blown out of the water by rivals Chelsea. In a shocking twist of events, the Blues tabled an £88million bid that was accepted and saw the young winger move to Stamford Bridge.
"I am very proud to have the players we have. We always want to try to improve the squad," Mikel Arteta said after missing out on the transfer target in January. "The club are the first to try and improve the players we have. We have to have some discipline and be consistent in the targets we have. We can make the players better - let's focus on that."
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That discipline has seen the side miss out on some targets, but it has also seen them make decisions that have allowed them to return to their competitive best over the past season. That same line of thinking is likely to be a factor once again this summer as the Gunners look to close the gap on Manchester City for the next campaign.
football.london understands that Declan Rice is a top priority for Arsenal in the coming weeks as Arteta looks to revamp his midfield. However, former striker Alan Smith has suggested that the board at the north London outfit have set a maximum price and could be susceptible to another hijacking.
He told Sky Sports: "West Ham might want £120m. [for Declan Rice]. As to whether they're going to get it or not, I'm not so sure about that. He's a fine player, of course he is, great character, he's young, he's got his best years ahead of him. He's not a match-winner, he's just a very good player that would add to your starting XI."
"No I can't really, I have to say, not £120m," Smith added when asked if he could see the Gunners making such a big bid. "We saw their negotiation tactics with Mudryk when he was linked with Arsenal and they would only go up to a certain price, and after that they were out.
"They left it to Chelsea with Mudryk. If somebody else wanted to bid silly money for Declan Rice, having spoken to people on the recruitment side, people on the board at Arsenal who have given me an idea of how they work, yeah they've got a ceiling and they won't be held to ransom. They'll have a figure in mind and they'll go up to that if they do want him but they won't go any higher."
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