Arsenal reach £105m agreement for Declan Rice as Manchester City withdraw

In a significant transfer development, Arsenal has successfully reached a provisional agreement with West Ham United to acquire Declan Rice for a staggering fee of £105 million. This breakthrough came after Manchester City withdrew from the race for the highly sought-after midfielder.

Arsenal's latest offer of £100 million plus £5 million in add-ons, submitted on Tuesday night, was deemed acceptable, with only minor details pertaining to the deal structure requiring finalisation by Wednesday evening. Manchester City had their bid of £90 million rejected earlier in the day and expressed reluctance to match Arsenal's higher valuation.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had identified Rice as a prime candidate to fill the void left by Ilkay Gündogan's departure to Barcelona on a free transfer. It was expected that City would submit an improved offer for Rice on Wednesday morning, as insiders at West Ham anticipated. 

West Ham had been steadfast in their demand for a fee of at least £100 million and skillfully utilised City's interest to drive up the price for their captain. Once completed, the transfer fee for the England international will surpass the £100 million mark set by City when they acquired Jack Grealish from Aston Villa two years ago, making Rice the most expensive British player. 

Other clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich had also expressed interest in signing Rice, but Arsenal has consistently remained at the forefront of the pursuit since Christmas.

Last week, Arsenal's initial offer of £75 million plus £15 million in add-ons was rejected by West Ham due to their dissatisfaction with the proposed payment structure, which involved spreading the guaranteed portion over a five-year period. However, the size of Arsenal's latest offer proved acceptable to West Ham, who utilised Jude Bellingham's £88.5 million move to Real Madrid as a reference point during negotiations.

While City's bid initially put Arsenal at risk of losing out on their primary target, well-placed sources consistently indicated that Rice's preference was to join Arsenal. The 24-year-old midfielder, who recently became a father, has strong attachments to London and his family, making the prospect of finalising terms over a long-term deal with Arsenal a seamless process.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has communicated to Rice how he envisions the midfielder's role within his team. Arteta plans to build his midfield around Rice and the imminent signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65 million. Although Havertz has predominantly played as a No. 9 for Chelsea, Arteta intends to deploy him in a deeper creative role at Arsenal. Additionally, Arteta is nearing the completion of a £50 million deal for Ajax defender Jurriën Timber and has expressed interest in securing Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia.