Arsenal find themselves involved in a feisty transfer battle with Manchester City for Declan Rice this summer.
The Gunners have identified the England international as a priority transfer target and have already seen two offers turned down by West Ham. football.london understands a third bid is set to be lodged by sporting director Edu Gaspar, though it's unclear whether the value of the offer will be closer to the Hammers' £100 million asking price.
football.london understands Arsenal will beat City to Rice's signature if they place an offer of the Hammers' valuation or guarantee a significant fee to be paid upfront. This is because Rice prefers a move to the Emirates Stadium but would be open to join the Premier League champions if their bid is larger.
Should Arsenal complete the deal for Rice, he will become their record signing - beating the current £72million record. Many have predicted Rice's arrival in north London will take Mikel Arteta's side to the next level as they fell at the final hurdle last season.
Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has claimed Rice's arrival would be similar to Liverpool's blockbuster signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson in 2018. The Reds paid a world-record fee of £75m for Van Dijk before making Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper of all time six months later for just under £67m.
Since their moves to Anfield, Liverpool have reached three Champions League finals, ended their 30-year wait for a top flight title and lifted the FA Cup, EFL Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
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"If you look at Arsenal since [Mikel] Arteta came in December 2019, that season they got 56 points," Cascarino told talkSPORT. "He hadn't played a part earlier in the season, the next season they got 61, the next season they got 69.
"And last year they got 84, so there's a real upward curve at Arsenal. Declan Rice would make the impact that Alisson and Van Dijk made at Liverpool by coming."
Cacarino has doubts over Rice's potential playing time at Man City, should he opt against a move to north London. "It's an easy choice - Man City is an easy choice as in they could easily win the double next year and maybe more," he added.
"That's the thing you've got to really consider, but how big a part do you really play in that if you go to Manchester City? Because it's not impossible that they could spend £100m and he could be a bit-part player at Man City.
"Some people might laugh at that, well that's exactly the first season of Jack Grealish. I do think there is a very high possibility that he won't play as much football as he would like."
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