With regard to pursuing their primary target, Arsenal has received a tremendous boost.
How is Declan Rice’s transfer to Arsenal going?
According to Fabrizio Romano, a transfer expert, the Gunners’ pursuit of Declan Rice is the reason why he appeared on the House of Champions Podcast.
He gave an update on the overwhelming interest and mentioned that the North London team might have edged out the competition: “Yes, (Ten Hag is) a fan, and I think that’s reasonable, but it’s the same with Mikel Arteta, and I still believe that Arsenal are the front-runners to sign Declan Rice.
“They’ve been working on that deal; they first talked about Rice internally in January. I’m confident Arsenal will make a bid for Declan Rice in the upcoming weeks because they already had him at the top of their list for the midfield.
His mouthwatering £120 million price tag still hangs ominously over a potential sale, despite the hoopla around any movement.
Does Declan Rice make William Saliba better?
It is well known that the back four can only truly thrive when a strong midfield combination protects them.
Like Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell, even Rodri and Ruben Dias nowadays, there was a Roy Keane patrolling in front of every Rio Ferdinand.
With the captain of West Ham United standing directly in front of him, William Saliba will now be attempting to acquire such stability in north London.
The Frenchman has had a successful first season in the Premier League, playing at the centre of a team that has only allowed 43 goals in 37 games thanks to Thomas Partey’s heroics.
According to Sofascore, the Ghanaian has maintained a 7.10 average rating while excelling on defence with 2.1 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game.
Sofascore, Rice outperforms all of those qualities, boasting a higher 7.20 average rating along with 2.2 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, and six goal contributions per game.
Such consistency—following on from last year’s achievements, for which Ray Parlour dubbed him a Hammers “legend”—only serves to highlight how important this contract may be in advancing the team’s fortunes.
The England international manages to be both a creative danger and a massive defensive presence at the same time.
The hope is that Saliba can raise his already impressive league average rating of 6.96 to the level of players like Ferdinand and Campbell by having these improved defensive numbers in front of him.
The presence of such a rock-solid and trustworthy midfield general might be that legendary asset akin to Keane and Vieira, giving the 22-year-old that licence to truly reach outstanding levels on his way to Premier League glory. After all, pundit Darren Bent has already called the defender one of the best in the division.
