In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, Dean Jones backed Arsenal to land West Ham United star Declan Rice. Jones said,
“So Arsenal aren’t in a position here where they can pay some now and spread the rest over four years or anything like that. It might be a case whereby they’ve got to make their initial big payment and then follow it up with the two windows that follow after that, in order to satisfy West Ham’s demands over this deal.
“That’s the sort of scenario I think that we’re looking at here. But Arsenal definitely got a very, very good chance of landing Declan Rice, if they can do that. The player’s up for it, and he would love to stay in the Premier League. There’s no doubt about that. I know in Germany, they’ve been getting a bit excited about him going to Bayern Munich, but the chances of him doing that at the moment are slim.”
Rice’s Impressive Form In East London This Season
Rice has enjoyed a decent campaign at the London Stadium after he led West Ham to win the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy. The 24-year-old has scored five goals and earned four assists in 50 matches for the Hammers this season on all fronts.
The London-born talent has anchored the midfield with conviction as he is averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 1.5 clearances, 1.0 shots, 1.0 key passes and 0.9 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Premier League. He has even been accurate with his ball distribution based on his pass completion rate of 88% in league football (stats via whoscored).
Is Rice A Dream Option For Arsenal Head Coach Mikel Arteta?
Rice is a tough-tackling midfielder who can sense the danger quickly to secure the ball back for his side at the centre of the park. He doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when needed and is an accurate passer of the ball as well from midfield.
The England international has got the vision to create some inviting chances for his teammates in the final third. He can strike the ball with power from long range and is a decent dribbler with the ball in the opponent’s half.
We can expect Rice to add more bite and steel to Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta‘s midfield department. At 24, the West Ham skipper has his best years ahead of him which makes him a dream option for the Gunners to consider during the summer transfer window.
