Arsenal 'will look at signing' £80m star before Caicedo at the Emirates | OneFootball

Arsenal could look at the situation of West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice before attempting to sign Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo at the Emirates Stadium, transfer insider Dean Jones has suggested to GiveMeSport.

Mikel Arteta is looking to bolster his options in the middle of the park ahead of the beginning of next season.

Arsenal transfer news – Declan Rice

As per a report in The Times in January, Arsenal have made Rice their top target for the summer transfer window and are increasingly confident of beating London rivals Chelsea to his signature.

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The same publication says that the Gunners are optimistic that an £80m transfer fee could be enough to seal the deal with West Ham, with the midfielder set to enter the final year of his £60,000 per week contract at the London Stadium, though the Irons do have the option to extend this by a further 12 months.

During last month’s winter transfer window, Arteta’s side had turned their attentions to acquiring the services of Brighton’s Caicedo and even had a £70m bid rejected by the Seagulls.

However, Jones has recently told GiveMeSport that Arsenal could be willing to break their transfer record this summer, in a bid to secure Rice’s signature.

And the transfer insider believes that the north London outfit will prioritise the signing of the West Ham captain before they pursue another deal for Caicedo.

“Ultimately, I think Arsenal will look at the Declan Rice situation first before going back to Caicedo.”

On the face of it, Rice would look to be a failsafe signing for Arsenal and you would expect the midfielder to seamlessly make the transition from the London Stadium to the Emirates.

The 39-cap England international has acquired over four years of experience being a Premier League regular at West Ham and therefore wouldn’t be phased by any adaptation to the physical challenges that the league possesses.

In that time the London-born star has earned the mantle of being the team’s captain, having taken over the role full-time following the retirement of Mark Noble at the end of last season, indicating that he is a positive role model both on and off the pitch to his fellow teammates.

The 24-year-old has played a part in a relatively successful period in the club’s recent history, having helped the team achieve back-to-back European finishes during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, with the Irons making it to the Europa League semi-finals in that time.

Therefore, Arteta will feel that the potential signing of Rice could be a low-risk, high-reward addition to the squad at the Emirates Stadium and a move for the Three Lions star this summer would no doubt excite the Gunners faithful.