For many years it seemed as though Declan Rice was destined to join Chelsea. Having been released from the club as a teenager, Rice had continued to support the Blues, and as his performances continued to improve at West Ham, his former team's admiring glances grew stronger.
Frank Lampard's influence was key, and across various conversations, Rice implied that he was very open to the move. Thomas Tuchel continued the love affair and was keen to bring the England international to Stamford Bridge last summer.
A mixture of takeover chaos and haphazard transfer strategy meant that didn't happen, but at the time Arsenal settled on Rice as the man to build their midfield around for years to come, it's no secret that they entered the race closer to the back of the grid. It's at this point that they used arguably the best card they had to play.
