Jamie Carragher has warned Declan Rice that joining Arsenal will bring “no guarantee” of major trophies.
The West Ham captain is edging closer to completing a move to north London, with the Gunners not far away from agreeing a deal that could rise beyond £100million if certain add-ons are achieved. Bayern Munich have pulled out of the race to sign Rice, giving Arsenal a clear run.
The 24-year-old won the Europa Conference League with West Ham in what will almost certainly prove to be his final appearance for the club, and he has made it clear over the past year that playing in the Champions League is a priority.
Arsenal can offer him that and Mikel Arteta will hope that the expected arrival of Rice can help his side mount another serious Premier League title challenge next season, having fallen short to Manchester City this time after a stumbling run-in.
The Gunners must prove that their title bid was not “a one-off”, according to Carragher, who believes joining any club other than City in search of the biggest prizes is a risk.
“It is difficult with Declan Rice, and I think Harry Kane falls into this one too, they are at clubs that probably aren’t going to challenge for the Premier League or Champions League,” Carragher told the Metro.
“But unless you go to Man City, there is no guarantee you are going to come out with trophies that you want. But you want to give yourself the opportunity and the tough question for Arsenal heading into next season is whether this was a one-off or whether they can be consistent and challenging the biggest sides because it hasn’t happened for a long time.
“I always felt he [Rice] would end up at Chelsea, but he could go to Arsenal and it could go great for him. He’s a step up from what they’ve got but there is no guarantee he will go onto win the biggest trophies with them.”
