Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is "pushing as he never did before" to sign Declan Rice and a deal is "close now".
What's the latest on Declan Rice to Arsenal?
Late last night, Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to claim that Edu and Arteta are doing an "incredible job" in the battle for Rice, with the manager making a "huge effort" to sign the West Ham midfielder, who he envisages as being one of the faces of the club's long-term project.
Now, it appears as though the Spaniard's persistence has finally paid off, with Man City dropping out of the race for the England international, as they are unwilling to match the new offer that has been made by the Gunners.
Edu returned to the negotiating table last night with a bid of £100m, plus £5m in add-ons, and work has now commenced on agreeing the structure of the deal. Rice's camp reportedly believe the most recent offer is fair for all parties, having now asked West Ham to accept the proposal, paving the way for a move to the Emirates Stadium in the near future, with personal terms already being agreed for quite some time.
Is Rice joining Arsenal or Manchester City?
After a nervy few days, with Man City making their interest in the central midfielder well-known, Arsenal now appear to have won the race for his signature, news that is sure to be very exciting for the fans.
According to Jacob Steinberg, a deal is "close now", as he took to Twitter this afternoon: "Agreement between West Ham and Arsenal close now and could be done today. Rice has wanted Arsenal all along and is going to get his move."
Arteta will be relieved the transfer saga is finally approaching its conclusion, and he is set to bolster his midfield with a top-quality player, who has a range of different qualities.
The West Ham captain averaged 2.1 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game in the Premier League last season, the highest number of any player in the squad, and he has also started to impress on the front foot.
Hailed as a "very good finisher" by teammate Tomas Soucek, Rice registered five goals and four assists for West Ham last season, and Arteta will now be hoping he can continue his development in an Arsenal shirt.
