‘Arteta gets on with him really well’: Arsenal’s ‘world class’ target is already mates with Arteta – journalist

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It’s no secret that Arsenal want to sign Declan Rice this summer.

The West Ham midfielder has been the Gunners’ top transfer target for quite some time now, and according to Toby Cudworth, the player is already very friendly with Mikel Arteta.

Indeed, speaking on the Talking Transfers Podcast, the journalist has stated that Rice is the player Arsenal want more than any other, claiming that Arteta gets on with the ‘world class’ midfielder very well already.

Arteta and Rice get on

Cudworth shared what he knows about Rice.

“West Ham are seriously unhappy with how things have gone so far, but we do expect both Arsenal and City to come back, Rice is Arsenal’s primary target, Mikel Arteta gets on with him really well and he sees him as the lynchpin for their transfer plans this summer,” Cudworth said.

“I think David Sullivan takes the bid that gives West Ham the most money up front. You can understand West Ham’s logic here.”

Easy transition

It’s understandable why Rice wants to join Arteta at Arsenal if he already gets on with the Gunners manager.

Indeed, while a move to Manchester City is alluring for a number of reasons, Pep Guardiola is, infamously, not the easiest manager to win over.

Kalvin Phillips learned that the hard way this season after he was berated for being ‘overweight’ by the City boss, while the likes of Zlatan Ibrahmovich and Joao Cancelo have been on the wrong end of Pep’s wrath too.

Arteta is similarly fiery, freezing the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of his squad, but with Rice already getting on so well with Arteta, that’s something he seemingly doesn’t have to worry about.