‘Something to consider’: Journalist shares the one thing that could make Declan Rice do a U-turn on joining Arsenal

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We’ve been hearing for a long time that Declan Rice wants to join Arsenal this summer.

The England international is apparently very keen to sign for the Gunners, but now, Manchester City have entered the race.

Of course, after countless reports about Rice wanting to join Arsenal, it’s fair to assume that the Gunners may still be leading this race.

However, according to Dean Jones, Rice’s head could be turned by Manchester City if he is given assurances about Pep Guardiola’s future at the Etihad.

Rice’s U-turn

Jones spoke about Rice’s mindset on The Done Deal Show.

“This would be a disaster for Arsenal if Declan Rice didn’t sign for them. He was happy to commit to them but now you have the treble winners and Guardiola knocking on the door. The way it was put to me was that ‘yes Declan Rice likes Arsenal, ideally he’d stay in London, but if he has assurances that Pep Guardiola will stay in charge of that team for the next couple of years that could change his mind.’ That’s now something to consider because Guardiola has given assurances recently that he will be seeing out his contract, and if you’re Rice that’s a hard thing to ignore,” Jones said.

Hard to predict

It’s interesting to hear that Guardiola’s future is at the centre of this Rice deal because it is impossible to predict what Guardiola is going to do at any given moment.

He left Barcelona and Bayern Munich unexpectedly, and with Manchester City having a number of FFP charges hanging over them, a shock Guardiola departure isn’t out of the question in the coming years.

Rice’s head could be turned by City, but they will have to make him quite a big promise in order to land him.

Guardiola’s future could well be the deciding factor here.