An update has emerged on Arsenal and their long-term transfer plans for Mikel Arteta’s options in midfield…
What’s the talk?
According to The Sun, the Gunners are still eyeing up a swoop to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice at the end of the season in spite of their efforts to strengthen their midfield this month.
Do Arsenal need Rice and Caicedo?
Yes
No
The report claims that Edu and Arteta are hoping to secure a deadline day deal to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo and that Stan Kroenke has given them the green light to go in for the Ecuador gem
It is stated that Arsenal could splash out a club-record fee to sign the central midfielder and that they could go as high as £75m but any move for the youngster would not impact their plans to go in for Rice in the summer.
Thomas Partey heir
Edu could now land Arsenal their heir to Thomas Partey’s position in the team by patiently waiting until the end of the campaign to snap up the Hammers star.
The current Gunners defensive midfielder has been in fine form in the Premier League this season and has been one of the key cogs in Arteta’s side as they charge towards qualification for the Champions League and a potential title.
Partey, 29, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.16 across 16 appearances in the division and made an eye-catching 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game for the team, whilst also completing 87% of his attempted passes.
Rice, who was once dubbed a “Rolls Royce” by journalist Joshua Mbu, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.25 in 20 outings for West Ham. The England international has averaged 3.9 tackles and interceptions per match and completed 89% of his passes in that time.
He also caught the eye at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by making 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game and completing a whopping 94% of his passes in five appearances for England.
The 24-year-old has proven himself to be a terrific defensive midfielder at Premier League level and on the world stage for his country and this suggests that the gem would be a sublime signing for Arsenal.
Rice could come in as the dream long-term heir to Partey’s position in front of the back four as the Englishman has shown, with his aforementioned statistics, that he can regularly break up play with defensive contributions whilst also being extremely reliable with the ball at his feet.
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