Ray Parlour says one of the reasons why Declan Rice would want to secure a transfer from West Ham United to Arsenal is to play with the likes of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba.
It seems as though Treble-winning Manchester City are also fishing for Declan Rice’s talents, and if that’s the case, then Arsenal will have a fight on their hands.
But why would the England international pick the Gunners? Well, for Highbury hero Parlour, the ‘history’ of the club, what the future holds and some of the star names he could play alongside all have contributing factors, as he told talkSPORT (13/06/23 at 9:15 am).
The West Ham United captain is set to depart the London Stadium this summer and Arsenal have already had a bid rejected for the midfielder, as reported by Sky Sports.
A player hailed ‘exceptional’ by Pep Guardiola, it will be interesting to see how those at the Emirates react if the all-dominant Manchester City team become serious about signing the 24-year-old.
The Gunners might have the history over those from Manchester, but they have the present, with Parlour discussing the Rice transfer story.
On why Rice would want to join Arsenal: “The history (makes Arsenal an attractive club to Rice),” said Parlour. “The players they have had in their history. Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira. Some top, top players.
“A lot of it is down to he is very happy where he lives. His family are happy there. That gives them another opportunity and, as I mentioned, it’s the youngest squad in the Premier League. And the young players are going to get better.
“Declan Rice might be looking at Saka, Martinelli, Saliba and Odegaard. And saying, ‘I wouldn’t mind being part of this team going forward’. It doesn’t guarantee to win trophies, but it gives you a better chance if you have better players.”
Odegaard and Rice link-up
If Rice makes that move across London, then he will be expected to fill the Granit Xhaka role, the ex-captain is expected to leave.
It will allow him to roam forward from that left-sided number eight role, increase his attacking numbers and build partnerships with the likes of Martinelli, Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus.
At West Ham, he was the defensive brain in the middle of the park and others around him would play with more freedom, so it will be interesting to see how he will perform if given the license to bomb forward more in a more attacking and dominant side.
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