16 January 2023 , 18:19
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Declan Rice has emerged as Arsenal's priority transfer target next summer as he readies himself for a West Ham exit according to reports.
Mikel Arteta is thought to be a keen admirer of the England international, who would certainly fit the Spaniard's ideal age profile for the young, talented squad he is building over at the Emirates. Rice has also been particularly complimentary of the Arsenal boss in recent weeks, labelling him a 'top coach' following Arsenal's Boxing Day win over the Hammers.
However, Rice arriving in the red half of North London may not prompt smiles from everyone, after a particularly fesity exchange with Gunners forward Eddie Nketiah last season. The pair had to be separated during the tail-end of Arsenal's 2-1 victory at the London Stadium back in May of last year.
The initial bust-up was actually between Nketiah and Rice's West Ham colleague Aaron Cresswell, who felt the Arsenal ace had kicked the ball away to waste time with the game nearing its end. A large melee swiftly ensued, but it was Rice who carried it on with the England Under-21 record goal-scorer.
Nketiah walked away from the large crowd of players, but was followed by Rice who continued to shout in the face of a player who he could now call a team-mate as soon as next summer.
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What makes the fall-out even more bizarre is the fact that Nketiah and Rice were actually team-mates together during their shared time in the Chelsea youth set-up.
Declan Rice screamed in the face of Eddie Nketiah last seasonHAVE YOUR SAY!Would Declan Rice be a successful signing for Arsenal? Comment below
Rice has even previously recalled how the duo were so close that they would share meals made by Nketiah's mother on the bus for away games while they were at the Blues.
"When we were at Chelsea we used to go on long aways and used to travel on the coach. Eddie used to bring a massive bowl, like a big jollof rice to feed the whole team. The lads used to be buzzing over it," he recalled.
Arsenal have played the Hammers once since then in a clash that saw Nketiah get on the scoresheet with a delightful finish to cap off a 3-1 win for the Gunners at the Emirates.
There was no ill-feeling or hangover from their previous fall-out and instead Nketiah and Rice shook hands as normal following the end of the clash before the latter headed down the tunnel.
Rice's most recent comments regarding Arsenal certainly read like a man who wouldn't be against the idea of a move to North London, which seems a realistic possibility as the Gunners are willing to pay the required £75million.
After the Boxing Day defeat, the 24-year-old told Sky Sports: "They are a top team. You can see they are coached incredibly well, have a lot of attacking talent, a young squad and they can go the whole way for sure.
"First half we tried as hard as we could to stop them, we came up short and it's frustrating. It's a tough one because first half even though we didn't have much of the ball we defended really well, had a plan, went one-nil up but you can't sustain that for 90 minutes against a team like Arsenal, it's the same against City.
"In the end one of their chances will lead to something, with their free-flowing football they managed to get through."
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