Arsenal have confirmed the club-record arrival of in a £105million deal from , with the midfielder signing a long-term contract with the Gunners.
Manager Mikel Arteta had identified the England international as his top transfer target for the summer window but the north Londoners were initially frustrated in their pursuit.
They saw two bids rejected by West Ham despite chairman David Sullivan confirming that Rice and then faced late competition from for his signature.
But with the Hammers holding firm on their mammoth valuation, City and Arsenal were able to agree a .
There had been some friction over the structure of the deal, with Arsenal initially hoping to pay the fee over four years, but West Ham wanted it in two instalments before the start of 2025.
A compromise was eventually found and Rice successfully underwent a medical before putting pen to paper on his new contract with the Gunners, which is set to net him around £250,000-a-week.
Despite interest from treble winners City, Rice’s preference was always to stay in London and join Arsenal, with Arteta selling the move in a lengthy face-to-face chat at his home.
Assuming the add-ons are triggered, the transfer sees Rice become the most expensive British player in history, overtaking the £100m fee City paid to sign Jack Grealish two years ago.
The deal also smashes Arsenal’s own club-record transfer fee, which was previously held by Nicolas Pepe following his £72m move from Lille in 2019.
Rice has been at West Ham since joining their academy from Chelsea in 2014 and led the team to their first major trophy in 43 years when they lifted the Europa Conference League last season.
After initially emerging as a centre-back, Rice has excelled since moving into midfield; the 24-year-old has outstanding defensive instincts and work rate and has added more creativity and composure on the ball to his game, also netting four times in the Premier League last season.
He inherited the West Ham captaincy from Mark Noble after the latter retired and has been a mainstay of the England team under Gareth Southgate, making 43 appearances to date.
Arsenal have this summer, with Arteta suggesting he sees the German as than an attacker, and Thomas Partey could now follow Granit Xhaka in leaving the club.
On Friday, meanwhile, Arsenal confirmed the £40million signing of versatile defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax.
The north London club’s spending will not finish there, either, with Arsenal also looking to bring in another new midfielder – probably Southampton’s Romeo Lavia – and cover for Bukayo Saka who played 62 games for club and country last season.
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