How Arsenal will pay the £105 million for Declan Rice

Arsenal are all but certain to confirm the signing of Declan Rice in the not too distant future but there's a reason they've not landed him yet.

Panic that they were going to be beaten to the signing of Rice turned to elation from Arsenal fans over the course of Wednesday.

First came the news that Manchester City weren't going to match their offer for the England international, leaving them as the only side in the race and potentially proving Eni Aluko right.

And then it was reported that Mikel Arteta's side had 'reached an agreement' with West Ham United over the sale of their captain.

The 24-year-old is expected to quadruple his wages and become the second highest paid player at the Emirates Stadium, behind only Gabriel Jesus.

It could be an expensive week for the Gunners after they already confirmed the signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £60 million, with another £5 million in add-ons.

But whilst the amount for Rice has been agreed, £100 million guaranteed and £5 million in bonuses, it hasn't been decided how that will be split up.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the selling club want all the guaranteed money paid over 18 months, which the buyers are currently short of.

The Mirror report that at present the Gunners are offering £75 million up front with the rest of the £25 million paid over the five years of his contract.

Rice is set for a move to Arsenal. Image: Alamy

The report goes on to say that negotiations on how long they'll take to pay the £25 million are getting closer so the deal is expected soon.

It suggests that Arsenal have learnt from recent transfer mistakes, most notably when they lost out on Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea.

The Ukrainian forward certainly seemed to want a move to north London but Arsenal's negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk was hijacked by the Blues.

Both bids for the player were similar in price but the Gunners wanted to pay the add ons in much less achievable bonuses and over a longer period of time.

One might argue they dodged a bullet with Mudryk having a pretty tough start to life in the Premier League last season.