Arsenal could see their transfer advantage in the race to sign Declan Rice lessen following West Ham's fresh stance. The Gunners sent an official £80 million bid to the Hammers for their captain earlier this week but saw that immediately rejected, with a second offer now being prepared.
The 24-year-old is the priority transfer for Mikel Arteta this summer, as football.london understands, however other clubs are in the race. Arsenal are currently leading the way but Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all still keen to acquire Rice although Bayern Munich are no longer in pursuit of the player after conceding to the fact he wants to remain in England.
While he is Arsenal's main target, a number of other factors are affecting Chelsea and Man City particularly, in their hopes to sign Rice. Mateo Kovacic looks set to join Pep Guardiola's side imminently but the future of Ilkay Gundogan remains in the balance with the European champions subsequently asking about the status of Rice on Friday, as per Fabrizio Romano.
