 Arsenal have confirmed the club-record arrival of Declan Rice in a £105million deal from West Ham, with the midfielder signing a long-term contract with the Gunners. Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis Sign up Privacy Policy Manager Mikel Arteta had identified the England international as his top transfer target for the summer window but the north Londoners were initially frustrated in their pursuit. They saw two bids rejected by West Ham despite chairman David Sullivan confirming that Rice would be allowed to leave and then faced late competition from Manchester City for his signature. But with the Hammers holding firm on their mammoth valuation, City decided to withdraw and Arsenal were able to agree a fixed fee of £100m plus a further £5m in add-ons. There had been some friction over the structure of the deal, with Arsenal initially hoping to pay the fee over four years, but West Ham wanted it in two instalments before the start of 2025. A compromise was eventually found and Rice successfully underwent a medical before putting pen to paper on his new contract with the Gunners, which is set to net him around £250,000-a-week. Despite interest from treble winners City, Rice's preference was always to stay in London and join Arsenal, with Arteta selling the move in a lengthy face-to-face chat at his home. Rice has established himself as one of the Premier League's best midfielders (Picture: Getty) Assuming the add-ons are triggered, the transfer sees Rice become the most expensive British player in history, overtaking the £100m fee City paid to sign Jack Grealish two years ago. The deal also smashes Arsenal's own club-record transfer fee, which was previously held by Nicolas Pepe following his £72m move from Lille in 2019. Rice has been at West Ham since joining their academy from Chelsea in 2014 and led the team to their first major trophy in 43 years when they lifted the Europa Con){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Arsenal have confirmed the club-record arrival of Declan Rice in a £105million deal from West Ham, with the midfielder signing a long-term contract with the Gunners.
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
Manager Mikel Arteta had identified the England international as his top transfer target for the summer window but the north Londoners were initially frustrated in their pursuit.
They saw two bids rejected by West Ham despite chairman David Sullivan confirming that Rice would be allowed to leave and then faced late competition from Manchester City for his signature.