Declan Rice breaks silence on why he turned Man City down for Arsenal transfer

Declan Rice has opened up on why he decided to join Arsenal over the likes of Manchester City during the summer transfer window.

The north Londoners made Rice their priority target for the summer window, as football.london revealed back in January. But they faced stiff competition to sign the 24-year-old, with City, Bayern Munich and Manchester United also heavily linked.

In fact, Pep Guardiola's side even bid for the England international before he eventually completed a club-record £105million move to the Gunners. Since then, Rice has been hugely impressive, showcasing his rare blend of tactical intelligence, defensive nous and ball-carrying ability during the opening weeks of the 2023/24 campaign.

The former West Ham United captain even netted a dramatic 96th-minute winner during Arsenal's recent 3-1 victory over United before Gabriel Jesus sealed all three points after the 100-minute mark. Now, Rice has revealed that Arteta was the main reason that he opted to make the move to the Emirates Stadium over the Etihad or Old Trafford.

When asked why he chose the Gunners over other interested clubs, Rice told Channel 4: «The manager. Mikel. From the moment I met him I knew he was the one I wanted to take care of the next part of my career.

»The way he spoke, his aura, the way he sees the game." It will be music to Arsenal supporters' ears that Arteta played such a big role in recruiting a highly-sought after player.

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The Spaniard has been in the managerial hot seat for a little under four years, narrowly missing out on the Premier League title last season. The hope now is of course to go one step further and try and beat reigning champions