Arsenal are set for yet another busy summer transfer window as Mikel Arteta looks to close the gap between his side and Premier League champions Manchester City.
Arteta is keen to bolster his squad, particularly in midfield, with West Ham United star Declan Rice the priority target. football.london understands that the Gunners are confident they have a strong offer for Rice but feel that it will ultimately come down to the player to decide amid interest from a host of other elite European sides, including Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
The north London outfit are keen to avoid a bidding war and they’ve demonstrated in the past that they are willing to walk away from priority targets like Lisandro Martinez and Mykhailo Mudryk - who eventually joined United and Chelsea respectively. Arsenal are preparing an official offer for Rice, but they want to be respectful to the Hammers, who take on Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final tomorrow night.
Rice has made it no secret of his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League sooner rather than later, a boost to the Gunners considering they have qualified for Europe's elite competition for the first time since 2016. The West Ham captain was also full of praise for the north Londoners after the two sides met last season,
"100%," the 24-year-old said when asked if Arsenal were title contenders back in December 2022. "I think they’re a top team, you can see they're coached incredibly well, the attacking talent, it’s a young squad, they could go the whole way for sure.
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"They’re a good team, we tried to stop them first half but it’s really hard. In the end, we come up short and it’s frustrating."
Ultimately, Arteta's men lost out on the Premier League title to Manchester City by five points. But the Spaniard will be confident his side can come back even stronger next year considering how young his squad are, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba all aged 22 or under.
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