Are Arsenal likely to break the UK transfer fee record this summer?

Many people believe Arteta will prioritise strengthening the midfield in the summer. Some may argue that they know who his main target is, so who is it? Declan Rice, who else? A lot has been said about the West Ham player, but one thing has remained consistent: he is not going to come cheap.

A few weeks ago, David Moyes stated that in order to sign Rice, his suitors would have to break the £105 million British transfer record currently held by Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez. So the question is, how far will Arsenal go for Rice?

Arsenal will be willing to pay a high price for West Ham’s midfield engine, but they will not go above £100 million.

“I think Arsenal are definitely willing to break their own transfer record to sign Declan Rice, but I’m not sure they’re going to go above and beyond £100 million and break the British record,” said Dean Jones on Give Me Sport about Rice’s potential move to Arsenal.

“I think West Ham will be hopeful that that happens. They’re hopeful that they can get £110m for Rice. I can understand why they would set their stall out at that level. I’m just not 100% sure that it’s realistic.”

With how dominant Arsenal’s midfield has been this season, Rice has the potential to make it the best in the league once he joins.

West Ham may be forced to compromise their high price tag on his head, given that he will be in the final year of his contract with them, and if they do not sell him, they may risk losing him for nothing.