Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reviews the Crystal Palace win
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Arsenal fans are already beginning to dream of the summer transfer window after seeing West Ham star Declan Rice laughing and joking with Bukayo Saka and Ian Wright in England training. In a video posted to social media, the trio could hardly be any friendlier ahead of the Three Lions’ game against Italy on Thursday night.
The Gunners could play a key role in the hunt for Rice, who boasts suitors at numerous top Premier League clubs. West Ham are supposedly resigned to losing him after almost a decade on the books, although they are set to demand north of £100million.
Arsenal may be in a position to afford it if they win the Premier League title this season, with Rice sure to be impressed by the eight-point buffer they currently enjoy over nearest challengers Manchester City.
Despite rival interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, Arsenal supporters have every right to feel confident after seeing Rice having a ball on the England training pitch with club heroes past and present.
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Wright, who scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for the Gunners, posted the video, which showed Rice cracking a joke and getting a rapturous reaction. Saka was in the midst of the training ground fun and games, and he is now one of England’s key men amid a dazzling run of form at club level.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Arsenal supporters have interpreted the video to mean that Rice is set to choose the Emirates over anywhere else when the transfer window swings open this summer.
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“You just know Wrighty is asking the question,” wrote @4TheArsenal_, while @footballman25 added: “Declan Rice is trusting the process already and will be an Arsenal player next season.”
The West Ham captain has made no secret of his desire to play in the Champions League and test himself at the top level in years to come. Arsenal signed fellow midfielder Jorginho in the January transfer window, but manager Mikel Arteta would surely make room for Rice if the opportunity to sign him presented itself.
Hammers boss David Moyes addressed Rice’s ambitions late last year, and with the club threatened by relegation, it seems unlikely that they will stand in the midfielder’s way if their asking price is met.
“He wants to win and he wants to play for a really good side which is going to give him an opportunity to do so,” Moyes told reporters. “We hope that we can reach the Champions League, it’s looking difficult at this moment in time but we’re not just going to roll over and let Dec walk out the building, that is for sure.
“It’s going to be a big fight and I like it because he wants to challenge himself and wants to play in the big games and he wants to be a top player. I don’t think you’re ever going to hold anybody back from those ambitions.”
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