At present, Arsenal are playing a dangerous game over their pursuit of West Ham star, Declan Rice.

The Hammers captain is thought to prefer a switch to the Gunners over any other club, however, the north Londoners know the asking price – £120m (or £100m plus a midfielder) according to Sky Sports – and yet they’re continuing to yank West Ham’s chain.

A first bid of £80m was, frankly, disgraceful, and although their £90m second bid was a club record for Arsenal, it’s still well short of what’s needed to get the east Londoners to do business.

It’s therefore no wonder that West Ham are seeming to lose a bit of patience where Arsenal are concerned.

According to 90Min sources, the Hammers are fuming with their North London counterparts at this point in time.

Given the current mood at the London Stadium, there would be nothing to stop David Sullivan entertaining any other offers that may come in, and even preferring those bids over and above anything that the Gunners offer when they come back for a third time.

It isn’t clear why Edu, the Arsenal board and Mikel Arteta are taking such a stance when it’s abundantly clear that the deal is there to be done.

With this latest news, the north Londoners really need to tread carefully now, and hope that the waters can remain calm over the next few days ahead of what will hopefully be a successful bid.

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Arsenal ‘have to pay the extra’ to West Ham United for Declan Rice after Monday events – Paul Merson

Paul Merson has told Arsenal they “have to pay the extra money” to West Ham for Declan Rice after his performance for England against North Macedonia.

The Hammers captain started at the heart of the midfield for Gareth Southgate at Old Trafford as the Three Lions ran out 7-0 winners on Monday night (19 June).

The Gunners are the favourites to sign him this summer but after having their first offer dismissed as “embarrassing” according to TEAMtalk (19 June) made a second bid on Tuesday that is again not enough, and Merson feels they need to stump up to be sure of landing their key target.

Reacting to the action in the big international win on Monday night the Sky Sports pundit wrote on Twitter: “Watching this game, Arsenal have to pay the extra money for Rice. Would take them to another level.”

Speed up

Mikel Arteta clearly knows Rice’s quality already as he is widely reported to have made the 24-year-old his top target this summer.

So another demonstration of it in the England qualifier likely won’t change the negotiating strategy at the Emirates, but if they want the West Ham captain they are going to need to satisfy David Sullivan.

That looks set to be easier said than done based on the first two bids, with £90million including add-ons as far as they appear to have stretched so far.

 

With Manchester City expected to arrive on the scene imminently it could be the trigger that sends the price into the nine-figure realms that the Irons have always wanted.

The transfer market, boosted by Saudi money, looks ripe for a major offer to land Rice this summer as long as the race isn’t confined to a single team.

Even if it is the power still ultimate lies with West Ham, but with the star midfielder wanting a move to play in the Champions League he will also be hoping that Arsenal heed Merson’s advice sooner rather than later.