Jack Wilshere has backed Arsenal to complete the signing of this summer, insisting the United skipper would be the ‘perfect fit’ for the Gunners.
with Rice eager to join a club competing in the next season.
The 24-year-old broke into the Hammers side in 2017, replacing Mark Noble as club captain last year having also played alongside Wilshere during his two-year spell in east .
Chelsea are long-time admirers of Rice, who spent time in their academy as a youngster, while Manchester United have also been credited with interest.
But Wilshere, who now manages Arsenal’s Under-18s, believes the midfielder can reach new heights playing under Mikel Arteta in north London.
‘He’s a midfielder who can do anything,’ Wilshere told the PA news agency.
‘Anyone who supports any club would want Dec to join.
‘If I’m talking from a selfish point of view, in north London, I think he would be very good under Mikel’s watch.
‘Mikel would develop him, bring him on even more and he would be massive for the team as well. I have had conversations with Dec and told him what he is doing in unbelievable, he is captain of a big Premier League club and is always learning.
‘You have to be respectful to West Ham, that is his club, but his future is in his hands and it’s very exciting for him because he’s got everything with him now and he’s picking up more and more, he’s growing into this man who could play anywhere.
‘I’m looking forward to wherever he goes. I hope it is Arsenal, it would be a massive signing and a perfect fit.’
West Ham are resigned to losing their captain at the end of the season but David Moyes has warned any interested clubs must be prepared to break the British transfer record – which currently stands at the £106m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January.
Moyes said in February: ‘I think Dec will be blowing that British record out of the water, that’s for sure, when it comes around.’
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