Havertz + Rice, can Arsenal be worth the money this time?
Reporter Han Bing reported 139 games, 32 goals and 15 assists, which are the statistics Havertz left behind when he bid farewell to the Bridge. Three years have not been very smooth, not too efficient, but it has created the best memories for Chelsea fans - the goal in the Champions League final is enough to be remembered for a lifetime. The German's next stop is not far away, from west London to north London, the transfer fee of 60 million + 5 million pounds makes him the second most expensive player in the history of the Gunners. However, this ranking will soon be pushed one place behind Rice's arrival.
On the evening of the 27th local time, the Gunners offered 100 million + 5 million pounds for the third time, and on the 28th, the Blue Moon Army withdrew from the bidding. At this point, the only buyer who negotiated Rice's transfer with the Hammers was Arsenal. Rice, who already has a heart for Arsenal, also urged West Ham United to accept the unlikely higher offer and lead to a win-win-win deal. Transfer expert Romano and most British media believe that Rice's transfer may be officially announced within 24 hours. The Hammers captain will join Grasse for a £100 million base transfer fee to become the most expensive English player in history. Of course, when the total transfer fee is included, Bellingham's transfer fee is £115 million, and Rice, who has a maximum transfer fee of £105 million, is in second place.
As Arsenal's number one target for this summer, Arteta was hoping to bring West Ham captain Ronaldo under his command as early as last year. Helplessly, the Hammer gang marked a sky-high price of more than 100 million pounds, and could only postpone the action until this summer. In pursuit of Rice, Arsenal have made three offers, from the first bid of £80 million and £90 million two weeks ago to £105 million now. Manchester City joined the deal after Arsenal's second offer, starting a high-profile bid with £8000+10 million, and West Ham United are certainly happy to get the two giants to raise prices and sit on dividends. But City opted out after Arsenal's third offer as the Blue Moon believe the price was already above their valuation of Rice.
Manchester City have always had their own evaluation criteria for the value of signings in recent years, and will never be slaughtered for the target. From Cucurella to Jorginho to Harry Maguire, Manchester City have chosen to give up after their players were worth more than they were assessed. Unlike Manchester City, which are full of talent in midfield, Arsenal have made up their minds to regroup the core of the midfield around Odegaard and Rice in the context of the high probability of Xhaka and Thomas, and are naturally determined to win the West Ham captain.
The determination of the Gunners and Arteta stems from Rice's excellent performances in the last two years, especially last season. Rice was the only player in the five major leagues last season to have more than 30 offensive and defensive stats in six offensive and defensive stats (63), clearances (55), crossings (40), chances created (37), winning aerial confrontations (37), shots (36), compared with Kecedo, who was also priced at £100 million by Brighton, Rice is far ahead in interception, ball recovery, clearance and forward passing, only slightly inferior in steals.
Last season's Arsenal title race was due to lack of bench depth and lack of back-to-back squad, Mikel Arteta was determined to strengthen the squad, especially to increase the thickness and diversity of the midfield. The 24-year-old Rice has an age advantage over the 30-year-old Xhaka and Thomas, and can form a midfield duo with Odegaard for many years.
Rice, who was born in Chelsea's youth academy but was abandoned by the latter, suffered from depression as a result, and it was not until he was accepted by the West Ham United team in the same city that he regained his healthy growth. This adolescent setback allowed Rice to develop a gritty mindset and grow into a technical and psychological leader in the Hammers – something Arsenal desperately needed. Arteta's squad is mature enough in terms of technique and tactics, but lacks a captain who can step up in times of adversity.
Arsenal are Rice's only option to take his career to the next level, and his childhood friend Lauren Flair, who grew up in London, and his family's reluctance to leave London, is also an important factor why Manchester City have never had a chance. With the successive additions of Kai Havertz and Rice, Arsenal has invested at least £160 million this summer, and these two deals alone have approached last season's record for the total number of Arsenal's two-window signings, and also set a new record for single-window signings.
In the last eight seasons, Arsenal have changed their previous stingy style, investing more than 100 million euros in the market in 6 seasons and 150 million euros in 5 seasons. Unfortunately, there are many investment losers worth more than 50 million euros, Lacazette and Aubameyang are difficult to say perfect, Pepe and Ben White have not been able to play their value, and Jesus and Thomas are plagued by injuries. What kind of answers will Havertz and Rice hand over this time?