In the past season, Arsenal remained in contention for the domestic title for a long time but ultimately had to acknowledge Manchester City's superiority. The Londoners aim to not only make a strong impression in their domestic league again but also in the Champions League following the summer.
At least, that's what West Ham United expects. According to Fabrizio Romano, they believe that Manchester City will make an offer for Rice now that Ilkay Gündogan has decided not to renew his contract and is moving to FC Barcelona. However, the Italian transfer specialist reports that Manchester City will only do so if Rice is open to a move to the Etihad Stadium. David Ornstein from The Athletic also anticipates that a "formal bid" will be submitted to West Ham United soon in order to outpace Arsenal.
However, Arsenal remains confident that they will come out on top in this transfer saga. Rice, as the captain, won the UEFA Conference League with West Ham United. The final against Fiorentina appears to have been his last game for The Hammers. Initially, Rice also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, but reportedly, he prefers to stay in England for a longer period. Furthermore, the German champions cannot compete financially with the English powerhouses. West Ham United is demanding a transfer fee of over 100 million euros for the midfielder.
Arsenal made an increased second bid this week - 88 million euros plus over 17 million euros in bonuses - but it is expected that West Ham will reject this offer as well. According to Orstein, the runner-up of the previous Premier League season is getting closer to the asking price. Manchester United is also tentatively linked with Rice in the rumor mill, but he is currently unaffordable for the employer of Erik ten Hag.
