A sense of crisis did not engulf the Emirates Stadium when it became apparent that Manchester City had more than a fleeting interest in Declan Rice. Arsenal were altogether more sanguine than many of their supporters were in social media, a reflection of the simple reality of bidding for one of the Premier League's best midfielders, a possible England captain of the future who has won as much praise for his attitude as his technical qualities. The chances of signing a player of Rice's ilk without facing any competition were slim indeed.
On Monday night City formally entered the race after several days of dialogue with West Ham. An offer of £80 million with a further £10 million in add ons got the same response as Arsenal's second bid (£75 million with a possible further £15 million), a swift rejection from the London Stadium hierarchy, who will be delighted to see their plan coming together. As CBS Sports revealed on June 7, West Ham intended to keep negotiations live for as long as possible in the hope of drawing rival suitors into the fray.
Their patience has been rewarded with the emergence of the richest club in world football as a rival for the affections of Rice, who has long been keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium. If any club can test his resolve it would be the serial champions of England; few players turn down the chance to work with Pep Guardiola, least of all midfielders. There are things that even a club backed by Abu Dhabi's wealth cannot offer Rice, who has a young family and is keen to stay put in London, while there are also questions over where exactly the West Ham captain would fit into a midfield that has lost Ilkay Gundogan, but is gaining Mateo Kovacic.
Ultimately when it comes to the player, Arsenal have put in leg work over several months, long before CBS Sports first revealed in January that the 24 year old was enamored by the prospect of moving from the east of London to the north. Arsenal will make a third bid and there remains confidence that the work done to convince Rice of the project would pay dividends if they can reach an agreement with his club.
The challenge for the Gunners could well be the club to club negotiations. Sources close to West Ham indicate that the east Londoners do not have a set asking price per se -- though they evidently consider £100 million to be the floor for seriously considering an offer -- but are simply looking to extract the maximum value from the club's most prized asset. In short, it is feasible that Arsenal could hit the £100 million mark only for West Ham to shop that offer to City, challenging them to gazump the deal.
That they can do. City topped the most recent Deloitte Football Money League with revenue of £619 million, their footballing success in 2022-23 will have seen them bring in £95 million in Champions League revenue as well as a purse for winning the Premier League that is estimated to be worth £170 million. How City got to the pinnacle of football finances is a matter of ongoing investigation but one thing is indisputable, they have the funds this summer to eclipse anyone else. It need not even be the figures in which City shade Arsenal.
A key aspect of negotiations has been West Ham's desire to get most if not all of the main fee paid in two years, the Gunners would look to structure the deal over four or five, a perfectly normal approach for such sizeable sums. Much of the sizeable expenditure Arsenal committed to in the summers of 2021 and 2022 still needs to come off the books, adding a few sizeable instalments for Rice puts pressure on the finances as Mikel Arteta tries to build a squad with the depth in multiple positions to be a Premier League contender.
Historically, City do not go beyond what they view as a fair price for a player and as recently as last summer allowed a Premier League rival a free run at a player they really needed, opting not to sign a left back for Guardiola rather than go to the £62 million Chelsea paid for Marc Cucurella. That may hold true again this summer, that Arsenal ultimately hit a price point where their rivals at the Etihad Stadium opt to step back though the temptation will surely remain strong to rob last season's greatest domestic rival of the player they want above all else.
The last thing Arsenal will want is another cruel reminder of the disparity between them and Manchester City having just lived through that in a daily basis during the spring. As was the case in the title race, Arteta's side have done so much right to lay the ground work for what may well be the biggest prize of the non-footballing months. The problem once more is that the juggernaut ahead of them has capabilities they don't.
