Fabrizio Romano shares 'secrets' about Arsenal's club-record deal for Declan Rice

Declan Rice is on the brink of a move to Arsenal, and Fabrizio Romano has shared some 'secrets' about the deal.

The 24-year-old has been Mikel Arteta's priority transfer target for quite some time, but West Ham's triple figure asking price had proved to be a major stumbling block.

While Manchester City's interest cast doubt over any potential deal, with Arteta and Pep Guardiola going toe-to-toe for Rice's signature.

But it's Arsenal who look to have come out on top, with City unwilling to match the Gunners club-record £105 million bid.

And the north London club are now said to have reached an agreement in principle with the Hammers, with the signing set to become official in the coming days.

Transfer expert Romano has now lifted the lid on the role Mikel Arteta's played within negotiations.

Romano shares 'secrets' about Rice deal

Arsenal's recruitment team came under fire after they were beaten to the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk by Chelsea in January.

However, after signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a deal worth £65 million and and fending off Manchester City's interest in Rice, many supporters will be back on side.

While Romano has stressed the importance of Edu Gaspar in striking a deal for Rice.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Italian said: “Let me say one thing about the secrets of the Declan Rice deal. We have to include once again not just the director, Edu, who has been pushing on this deal and has been trying to find the best strategy for a long time since January, but also Mikel Arteta.

“In the crucial hours when Manchester City submitted an official bid to sign Declan Rice, it was probably the most difficult and intense hours of the negotiations for Arsenal. Also, in that moment, Arteta was always very convinced of having Declan Rice as an Arsenal star.

“He’s been pushing internally, but also on the player side. He’s been explaining the project and talking about how the Arsenal project is perfect for Rice, his ambitious project is for the future and Declan can be a crucial player there. So Arteta has been very clear with all the players Arsenal are negotiating.

“It was the case with Kai Havertz, it’s going to be the same with Jurrien Timber, but especially with Rice. Declan Rice and Arsenal is something that is going to happen also thanks to Edu and Arteta.

“Trust me, they did an incredible job in this story. So just waiting on the final bits of this story and then it’s going to be ‘Here We Go’ for Declan Rice!”

Topics: Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal, Declan Rice, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno