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.
Mikel Arteta has proved instrumental in bringing several of Arsenal's most important players to the Emirates in recent years. Amid interest from Chelsea and Tottenham it was Arteta's detailed presentation to Gabriel Jesus in which he cited an in-depth statistical analysis of the former Manchester City forward to convince him to choose the Gunners. Martin Odegaard meanwhile held a Zoom call with the Spaniard before signing from Real Madrid after which he challenged "anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you."
With Rice, Arteta appears to have repeated the trick. Sources close to the player have indicated on countless occasions that Rice was instantly enamoured with the Spaniard's plans for him during early exchanges in the deal. It was this that would prove key as Chelsea returned once more. Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Manchester City would all also throw their hats into the ring, but Rice was clear - he wanted to work under Arteta.
When explaining his extraordinary powers of persuasion Arteta cites the history and status of Arsenal across the world stage as making his life easier. "It doesn't need much convincing and if they do, for me it's not a good starting point," he told Ian Wright in an interview in 2020. "If I have to convince a player to stay or to join us. To Arsenal? It holds me back a little bit."
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Throughout the darker times of his reign at the Emirates, Arteta has consistently leaned upon Arsenal's history as a competitive advantage. The Spaniard has made sure to educate his players on the status of the club for which they play via constant subliminal and more obvious messaging. The walls at London Colney are adorned with nods to the Gunners' past such as quotes from Arsene Wenger, while pre-match team talks regularly reference what has come before.
Still though it is Arteta's drive and charisma that is proving the difference when it comes to attracting the talent Arsenal feel they need to go to the top. The negotiating powers of Edu and Richard Garlick have been vital in agreeing the potential £105million deal with West Ham, but if Rice helps the Gunners close the gap to Manchester City this season, it will be Arteta who deserves the biggest pat on the back of all.
