Declan Rice was "bowled over" by a meeting with Mikel Arteta over a potential move to Arsenal this summer, according to recent reports. It comes as the West Ham captain is nearing a switch to the Emirates Stadium in the coming days and weeks of the summer transfer window.
The saga surrounding the 24-year-old has had plenty of twists and turns as the Gunners submitted two early bids at £80million and £90million respectively, but saw them rejected. That gave rivals Manchester City a chance to enter the race as they saw an opening offer rejected, but both teams were moving closer to the £100million mark.
While there was a wait to see which team would blink first in matching a nine-figure bid, it was Arsenal that made the huge leap in doing so. football.london understands a club-record bid was submitted, with reports claiming that a deal in principle has been agreed at £105million.
