West Ham United captain Declan Rice is one of Arsenal's primary transfer targets ahead of the summer window, football.london understands.
The Gunners are keen to bolster their midfield options, with first-choice No.6 Thomas Partey injury prone whilst Granit Xhaka and Jorginho are 30-years-old and 31, respectively. Over the weekend, Rice showed that he is certainly Arsenal material after the Hammers were defeated 2-0 by London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The England international was outraged by his teammates after a number of West Ham players tried to walk off the pitch without going over to the away fans to clap them. The 24-year-old rounded his teammates, telling them to go over and show their appreciation for Hammers supporters who had gone to N17.
READ MORE: Why Jorginho shouted at Ben White as Arsenal's title hopes restored following Arteta masterclass
Former Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker did something very similar back in 2013 following a 6-3 loss to Manchester City. After the full-time whistle, playmaker Mesut Ozil tried to trudge off the field before an incensed Mertesacker confronted him, shouting in his face to go and applaud the travelling Gunners faithful.
Rice's actions on Sunday may impress Mertesacker, who is now the current manager of Arsenal's academy, and Mikel Arteta will certainly be admiring the tough-tackling midfielder's leadership ability.
Rice has previously made it no secret of his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League sooner rather than later and Arteta's side certainly are well on their way to qualifying for Europe's prestige competition, currently sitting top of the Premier League table after 23 games played.
“One hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League,” he said in December while on World Cup duty with England.
“For the last two or three years I’ve been saying that. I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing.
"I see my friends here who are playing Champions League and for big trophies. You only get one career and at the end, you want to look back at what you’ve won and the biggest games you’ve played in.”
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