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Arsenal and Mikel Arteta may hand Arsene Wenger his wish with star close to signing
Arsene Wenger spotted one Arsenal target's talent from a mile away when he was still in charge of the Gunners.
'It's a waste of time if he goes to Arsenal' — West Ham fans on Declan Rice
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was well-known for spotting talent, and he reportedly earmarked Declan Rice for a bright future when the West Ham captain was still a teenager. Mikel Arteta could therefore delight the Frenchman by hauling a transfer deal over the line this summer, with all signs pointing towards north London for the England man.
Rice spent eight years developing in Chelsea's youth academy before being released in 2014. Moving across London to West Ham, he kicked on in new surroundings and found himself in and around the first team just three years later.
Before graduating to the senior XI, Wenger had a chance to watch Rice in action when the Hammers' Under-18s side took on Arsenal's back in 2015. Having watched 20 minutes of the action, Wenger 'had seen enough', according to the Evening Standard.
The legendary former Gunners boss is then thought to have told one of his colleagues that Rice was the best player on the pitch, and he was 'in no doubt of his talent'.
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Rice started professional life primarily playing at centre-back, but the youngster quickly transitioned to central midfield, where he has risen to stardom in recent seasons. Arteta seemingly shares the same admiration that Wenger does, having drawn up a plan on how he will fit the Hammers star into his team.
That appears to have gone well in the 24-year-old's camp as he is now closing in on a move to the Gunners. A total package worth more than £100million is reportedly 'close' to being agreed with West Ham, who are resigned to losing him this summer.
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Committing to such a fee would be a huge vote of confidence from Arteta, given that Arsenal's current transfer record is held by £72m man Nicolas Pepe. Rice will hope that his spell in north London pans out better than the Ivorian's has.
If the move does go through as expected, Rice will arrive at the Emirates Stadium on a high after lifting the Europa Conference League with West Ham earlier this month. When quizzed on his future after the final whistle, the England international took care to avoid upsetting fans of the club that has served him so well.
"Look, at the moment, there's obviously a lot of speculation going on about my future," he told BT Sport. "Obviously there is interest from other clubs, that's out there, but ultimately I still have two years left at West Ham.
"I love this club, I love playing for this club, there has been nothing yet, so my focus is on playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens. I'm captain of this club, I absolutely love it to pieces, I cannot speak highly enough of this place and let's just see what happens."