Exclusive Ben Jacobs column: Deep dive into how Arsenal beat Chelsea to Declan Rice transfer & more
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How Arsenal’s charm offensive won over Declan Rice
Arsenal have their number one summer target in Declan Rice. For many months the now former West Ham captain only wanted Arsenal.
In fact, even if Manchester City had matched the £105m package, Rice still would have picked Arsenal. That’s partly why City pulled out. Their only real hope was to trump Arsenal’s package, but instead it was the Gunners who bid big. This played right into West Ham’s hands, who wanted a bidding war.
Back in January, Arsenal actually felt like £70-75m might be possible, especially with West Ham fighting relegation at the time. Arsenal have paid far more in the end, but they view the huge fee as an investment not an expense. They also didn’t want a repeat of the Mykhaylo Mudryk saga and to risk being outbid. I do think when they placed the £105m offer that was at the back of their mind.
Arsenal knew Rice spoke glowingly of Mikel Arteta and ideally wanted to stay in London so that helped their cause. But Chelsea were in the mix as well up until January.
Graham Potter wanted Rice yet Chelsea moved for Enzo Fernandez instead. Rice was originally open to returning to Chelsea but just not sold by the pitch. And he always feared Potter wouldn’t be the manager he would end up playing under, and was ultimately proven right.
Arteta was extremely hands on in the pitch presenting Rice with a lengthy presentation. This included how he would improve Rice’s attacking numbers even further. Rice was told he could get into double figures at Arsenal in terms of goal-scoring without necessarily changing his identity too much. This comes off the back of two seasons where Rice has scored five goals in all competitions.
Arteta values Rice’s progressive passing, leadership and made it clear to the 24-year-old he would be a staple of the team for several seasons if all goes to plan.
Rice also did his own homework speaking to Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka about Arsenal and Arteta. He even had a conversation with Arsenal legend Ian Wright.
It was common knowledge heading into the summer window that Arsenal were frontrunners for Rice. Liverpool knew this, and didn’t ever move. They were focused on Jude Bellingham for much of the build up to this summer.
The same potential outlay for Bellingham was not one they wanted to spend on Rice. From their perspective, it was just about having other targets and avoiding investing time on transfers with low success rate and high cost. Rice wanted Arsenal. Players don’t always get their top choices but in this case it was always likely he would only end up in one place.
The latest on Thomas Partey and Folarin Balogun’s Arsenal futures
There is still a chance Thomas Partey leaves Arsenal. He is a Saudi target, although he had originally told Al-Ahli he wasn’t interested. There is no indication yet if he will change his mind. But what I would say is some players who dismissed the project could have second thoughts as they see others join.
If Partey leaves then Arsenal could yet move for Romeo Lavia. Southampton want £50m. Liverpool and Chelsea are well across Lavia’s situation, too.
Liverpool want a midfield destroyer, but they won’t enter the race for Moises Caicedo, as previously revealed, and there is a feeling Chelsea will eventually get that deal over the line and for less than £100m.
All three clubs value Lavia at much less than £50m. Manchester City’s 2024 buyback clause of £40m is very much the top-end valuation in how clubs are thinking. I think we will see a bid for Lavia sooner rather than later but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s in the mid-30-millions.
The other Arsenal player to keep an eye on is Folarin Balogun, who has made it clear to Arsenal he doesn’t want another loan. Balogun had an incredible season with Ligue 1 side Reims last campaign, scoring 22 goals in 39 games in all competitions. Arsenal would love to keep him but it’s hard to see him getting enough minutes next season to be satisfied. That’s why a sale is possible.
Inter are weighing up a £35m (€40m) bid having turned their attention to Balogun after (at least for now) pulling out of signing Romelu Lukaku, seemingly furious at the Belgian striker for engaging with Juventus.
In January Arsenal would have valued Balogun at £35m, but now they want at least £45m. Inter may have a bit more wiggle room after selling goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United. Crystal Palace and West Ham are two of several other clubs who have Balogun on their radar.
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