Arsenal and West Ham reach final agreement on Declan Rice deal

It is no secret to anyone that Declan Rice was Arsenal's top target this summer and the Gunners have been working on this deal since January, especially Mikel Arteta. After receiving the coveted "here we go" from Fabrizio Romano we can safely assume that the Declan Rice deal is done. Arsenal have agreed to pay West Ham £100m plus £5m worth of add ons making him the most expensive English player of all time.

Declan Rice deal

West Ham had made it pretty clear from the very beginning that they won't sell Declan Rice for anything less than £100m and it was non-negotiable. They knew Arsenal was desperate for him as Mikel Arteta wanted him at any cost in the club, so they've forced Arsenal into paying £105m for Declan Rice after rejecting the first two bids from the Gunners.

Payment structure

The third bid of £105m (£100 + £5m add ons) was accepted by the Hammers a week ago but there was still complications over the payment structure. Arsenal wanted to pay the money over a period of five years but it was unacceptable for West Ham as they were placed under Uefa's financial fair play watchlist last September.

So West Ham's proposal was, Arsenal pay the guaranteed amount by the end of 2024 but looks like they've compromised and agreed on a different payment structure. The total amount of £105m has been agreed to be paid by the Gunner over three installments in two years time according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

Arsenal are said to be booking the medicals as we speak at the Emirates and announce Declan Rice as an Arsenal player as fast as they can. They've worked hard on this deal, especially Arteta and Edu.

From the very beginning of the transfer market it was a known fact that getting the Declan Rice deal was priority no. 1 for Arsenal and Arteta has worked very hard behind the scenes in convincing the English midfielder. Declan Rice has also said to be liking Mikel Arteta's plan of taking the club to a next level and is eagerly waiting to be a part of it.

After the Declan Rice deal gets completely done, Granit Xhaka will have the green light to move to Bayer Leverkusen, a move which has been agreed by both the parties months ago. Also, Arsenal would look to bring in the Dutch defender, Jurren Timber as that deal is also at the verge of completion.