Declan Rice has been privately asking questions about Arsenal

Add as preferred source on Google

Journalist Adrian Clarke has told The Athletic’s Handbrake Off podcast that Declan Rice has been speaking to people with Arsenal connections to ask questions about the Gunners amid reports that Mikel Arteta wants the West Ham star this summer.

Rice appears to be the name at the top of the Arsenal wishlist ahead of the end of the season. Reports from The Times have claimed that he is their top target and the Premier League leaders believe that they could get a deal done.

Rice has been one of the top-flight’s best midfielders for a number of years. And with West Ham languishing in the bottom-half of the Premier League, it looks likely – from the outside – that Rice will look to move on in the summer.

Rice asking questions about Arsenal

Of course, it is an incredibly exciting time to move to the Emirates. Arsenal have made rapid progress under Mikel Arteta. And there is a window to freshen up the midfield in the next couple of years.

If Rice is available, that process must be brought forward. And it seems that the interest in a move is quite mutual.

Clarke has now shared that the 24-year-old has been doing his research on a potential switch to Arsenal.

“I can’t reveal my source, but I do know that Declan Rice has been sounding out people connected with Arsenal in regards to, ‘What’s it like there? What’s it really like?’, so that sounds like a positive,” he told Handbrake Off.

Obviously, it is not ideal for West Ham at this stage of the season. But there is absolutely no question that Rice is going to give absolutely everything while he is wearing a claret and blue shirt.

He will be aware that there are links with Arsenal. So it makes a lot of sense to look into whether that would be the right move for him as he prepares for the next step in his career.

West Ham gave themselves a chance of keeping him for longer. But unfortunately, they have not managed to kick on from last season.

They will be absolutely fine this season. Their squad is so much better than anything down at the bottom of the table. But they are also a long way off being where Rice will want to be.

He is a ‘magnificent‘ talent. So of course, he is going to ask questions when hearing that the in-form team in the country wants him.