Arsenal Newsnow: In order to get West Ham United captain Declan Rice next summer, Arsenal is prepared to outbid Chelsea. It’s widely expected that the Hammers midfielder will go in the summer for a fee of approximately €100 million.
Rice, who is now 23, still has two years remaining on his contract. Chelsea attempted to sign him during the summer but was unsuccessful. Graham Potter’s team is still interested in the English midfielder. But Fichajes claims that Arsenal would do all it takes to get him.
About the report:
Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, would be overjoyed if the Premier League champions were able to sign Rice. Given his defensive acumen and offensive contributions, he has swiftly risen to the status of one of the league’s most respected midfielders. [Arsenal Newsnow]
With 22 total appearances in all competitions this year, Rice has contributed to five shutouts for the Hammers while scoring once and assisting on another.
The alum of Chelsea’s youth program also helped West Ham reach the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League in 2021-22. During England’s 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, he started all five games and was an integral part of the team’s midfield.
Last summer, Arteta showed serious interest in acquiring a defensive midfielder. He had his sights set on Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa. Rice would be an upgrade above the Brazilian and a marquee acquisition in line with the club’s present goals. [Arsenal Newsnow]
Arsenal Newsnow: Before Manchester City’s match against Chelsea, manager Pep Guardiola discussed the championship competition with Arsenal
After a goalless draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday, Arsenal maintained its impressive title-contending form and now leads City by eight points (January 3).
If Guardiola‘s squad wins Thursday’s match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they will cut Arsenal’s lead to five points (January 5).
The Spanish coach says Arteta’s team is on pace to score 100 points and that he’d need a flawless game for his team to come up to them. This is what he had to say (as reported by Sports Mole):
“They have an average they’re going to do 100 points, Arsenal, the way they’ve done so far. If they continue that way, we will not catch them. So you have to be almost perfect, I would say.”
He added: “Yesterday they were excellent against Newcastle again. We will see what happens.”
Arsenal has only lost once in the league this season, with 14 wins and two draws. In contrast, despite playing 16 games, City has only won 11. We will have to wait and watch whether Arsenal can thump Manchester City and go on to win the Premier League title of 2022/23. Mikel Arteta will certainly want his team to achieve this feat. Let us see what happens finally. [Arsenal Newsnow]
