Arsenal are ranked “one of the best CMs in the world” at £45m

The Premier League title has been years in the making for Arsenal, which could be the club’s decision in 2023.

Despite the interest of rivals from Manchester City, the Gunners’ hard work paid off, tempting Declan Rice to make a £105m move to the Emirates.

David Raya and Gabriel are to blame in their own right, but Rice has arguably been the defining figure in Mikel Arteta’s side guiding City to the title, with such a successful transfer pursuit three years ago looking like a coup.

He is a leader, a monster in midfield, but the 27-year-old cannot do it alone in the middle of the park. Thankfully, help may be on the way this summer.

Arsenal will make a £45m bid for the midfielder this summer

A year on from the summer when both Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi arrived in north London, it would appear that a new midfielder is once again on the agenda for Arteta and Andrea Berta this time.

Norgaard, ironically, has only managed 56 minutes of Premier League football this season, with Zubimendi’s form hitting the skids in 2026, replaced by youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly in recent weeks.

Finding a long-term partner for Rice is important, as is finding someone to offload him, with the former West Ham United man set to turn 54 in 2025/26, 48 of them from the start.

With that in mind, TEAMtalk have provided an interesting update, suggesting that the Gunners are among the clubs evaluating a move for Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders.

According to the report, City could consider an offer in the region of £45m this summer, as the Dutchman has seen his game time suffer under Pep Guardiola, despite an impressive first start at the Etihad.

From Arsenal’s point of view it is not said to have been developed yet, with Juventus showing a strong interest, however the Emirates switch will not be ruled out by the former AC Milan man.

Reijnders could be Rice 2.0 for Arteta and Arsenal

2025/26 got off to a great start for Reijnders, the 30-cap Netherlands international scoring his first Citizens goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers, while also getting a delightful assist from Erling Haaland.

A big, powerful, yet articulate midfielder to match, he looked to all the world as the midfield asset City were crying out for, especially amid Rodri’s impact through injury.

Frustratingly for the £45m man, his impact has waned since then, with Guardiola often paired with the more experienced Rodri and Bernardo Silva.

In total, the one-time PSV Eindhoven star has started 18 league games all season, and has played an unused role in seven of the last ten games in all competitions, having been repeatedly overlooked by the outgoing Catalan.

A difficult first season under Guardiola is rarely fatal, however, and should not worry those at Arsenal too much, and this is still a player who has been tipped to become “one of the best midfielders in the world” by Dutch icon Frank Rijkaard.

Indeed, even within his limited minutes, Reijnders still caught the eye, scoring five goals and two assists, while creating four ‘big chances’ and averaging an 89% pass accuracy.

Rice, especially in the corners, has been a creative weapon after providing 17 ‘big chances’, but his record is not quite the same as the City man, having scored five goals, registered four assists and achieved 87% pass accuracy.

Reijnders, it must be said, is not yet a Rice-like, ball-winning monster, although where he does mirror the Englishman is in his ball-carrying ability, which is excellent when diving upfield from deep.

That can be seen in the fact that even in a difficult season from a personal perspective, he still ranks in the top 8% of midfielders for 90 carries, according to DataMB.

There’s nothing better than seeing a powerful midfielder blow past opponents, as Rice has shown time and time again at Arsenal, who only ranks in the top 5% of that same metric.

With 14 goals and assists in Serie A last season, creating eight “big chances”, Reijnders highlighted he can produce if given consistent game time, suggesting a fresh start under Arteta’s watch could be just what is needed.

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The Spaniard has worked his magic in helping Rice develop into the cream of the crop when it comes to top-class or European midfielders – why can’t he do the same with Reijnders?