Former Premier League player and BBC pundit Alan Hutton has been sharing his thoughts on Arsenal being a potential transfer destination for Declan Rice.
The West Ham United midfielder has been linked with a move away from the London Stadium after he reportedly rejected a third offer to sign a new deal at the club back in April.
Specifically, Rice has numerous top-flight clubs apparently after him including Arsenal as well as the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs.
Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton had this to say when asked if the midfielder could choose Arsenal as his next club.
He said: “I do not see why you wouldn’t.
“They are still up there and challenging for the league title. The process has worked really well under Arteta, he is building a squad to go and challenge in the league and Europe.
“I think that is somewhere where Declan Rice sees himself, playing in the Champions League. I am really interested to see what kind of price tag we are talking.
“If you look at the likes of Jude Bellingham, are we talking about the same kind of figure? I do not think they are on the same level. That is no sleight on Declan Rice. It will be interesting to see what kind of figure we are talking about.”
Should Arsenal try and sign Declan Rice in the summer?
Yes
No
Hailed for his “superb” performances in the past by former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, Rice has shown this season how important he is for the Hammers.
Not only has he played every minute of league action for David Moyes’ side prior to their away match against Tottenham Hotspur, the 24-year-old has proved how impressive he is on and off the ball.
For example, as well as having the highest passing accuracy percentage (89%) out of players that have started at least one league game for West Ham, he also has the highest average of interceptions per game (1.6) and second-highest for tackles per game (2.3).
Even though Mikel Arteta currently has the likes of Jorginho, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in his squad, securing a deal for Rice could be an ideal long-term investment for the north London club to make given how he is younger than all four of Arsenal’s current central-midfield options.