Stevie Nicol says Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal signing Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber is a ‘statement of intent to the fans’.
Kai Havertz is already in the building after he joined from London rivals Chelsea, but the other two are yet to be confirmed by the club.
Although, it’s only a matter of time before the Arsenal faithful get to see Declan Rice in their colours, as well as Ajax star Jurrien Timber, with Nicol praising the club for the work they are doing, as he told ESPN.
Given that Rice is going to cost a British record transfer fee, then you can understand that deal dragging on, as they try to iron out the final details with West Ham.
But, once again, the powers that be at the Emirates are backing Mikel Arteta and he can’t have any excuses because a lot of money is being spent on the squad.
Whilst the Gunners showcased that they can challenge for the Premier League title last season, Liverpool legend Nicol says now it’s time to prove it again.
“Signing Declan Rice, Havertz and Timber is a great statement of intent from the club to the fans that we like what we saw last year, but we want to get better,” said Nicol.
“But it’s a whole world away from those three joining a team that’s actually been consistently fighting for the title for a period of time because it has only been one year. That’s the challenge.”
Which is the best deal?
You could argue that Rice is the player the fans wanted the most, Havertz is the one that has caused most of the debate because of how things have panned out for him at Chelsea, whilst Timber provides that squad strength.
In terms of value for money, only if Arsenal win trophies with Rice will that record deal prove to be worth it, but Timber, for his versatile nature and quality on the ball, might just be the best and smartest deal Edu will do this summer.
It could even be argued that Timber will go straight into the XI for Ben White, as Arteta looks to upgrade his XI.
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