Glenn Murray has claimed that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will be ‘happy’ that they didn’t secure the transfer of Arsenal’s new boy, Declan Rice.
It was well-documented from the very off that Mikel Arteta wanted Declan Rice to move to the Emirates, but then the Premier League champions were lurking in the background.
With West Ham United trying to eek out every bit of transfer fee for their captain, they started a battle between Arsenal and Manchester City for the England international.
In the end, it was the London club who pushed the boat out for the 24-year-old, as they broke their club-record transfer for his talents, but former Premier League striker Murray thinks Man City ‘drove the price up’, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport.
In the end, Arteta got his man because more depth in quality was needed, especially with Granit Xhaka leaving the club.
Whether Man City drove the price up or not, it was clear they wanted him on board and that proves the quality Rice has in his boots.
“Man City have got money and they decided not to push that any further,” said Murray. “So, he can’t have been high up on their agenda.
“It just seemed set from a very early point that he was going to join Arsenal. Man City will be happy losing out on him.
“If anything, they drove the price on him, didn’t they?! They showed some interest, drove the price and then said ‘we are done fellas, you can have him’.”
Can Rice take Arsenal to the next level?
That’s the £100 million question because, with that price tag and noise around his transfer, the £250k-a-week star (90min) will be expected to do just that.
Up until April, you would argue that Arsenal were doing ever so well in their Premier League title push.
So, whilst they will be aiming for a similar start from the last campaign, how they cope with Champions League football and when those crunch moments arrive is where Rice’s skill set will be put to the test the most.
The post 'Have him': BBC man says rivals 'happy' they didn't sign £250k-a-wk star instead of Arsenal appeared first on HITC.
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