Arsenal have three transfer options if Man Utd or Man City hijack Declan Rice deal as Man City submit 'formal bid' of £100m-plus today...

Arsenal's transfer for Declan Rice is at risk of being hijacked by Manchester United and Manchester City.

Both Manchester United and City have now made attempts to hijack Arsenal’s deal for West Ham captain Declan Rice after the Gunners were thought to be frontrunners for his signature. Mikel Arteta’s outfit have had two offers knocked back by the Hammers, giving the two rivals the opportunity to move in and attempt to convince Rice to relocate to Manchester. If Arsenal do miss out on their key target, Express Sport has three backup options for them to turn to.

Sign Moises Caicedo

The likeliest Plan B if Arsenal were to lose Rice to either Manchester club is to move for Brighton star Moises Caicedo, having attempted to sign him in the January window. The Gunners had two bids rejected upwards of £70million as they looked to bolster their midfield options and failed to rule out a summer move.

However, the Seagulls’ demand of a £100m-plus bid for the Ecuadorian to part ways has forced Arsenal and Chelsea to cool their interest. The initial plan was to sign Rice and Caicedo, but the finances involved scuppered their strategy - though they could resurrect their interest in Caicedo if Rice decides to leave London.

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Thomas Partey is expected to depart Arsenal if both Rice and Romeo Lavia join the club, with Granit Xhaka also likely to leave for Bayer Leverkusen. With the Swiss midfielder’s exit further down the line, Partey could be kept at the club despite his contract situation if Rice is not signed.

The Ghanaian enjoyed an impressive season in 2022-23 and, although the club would ideally like to upgrade with Rice and move Partey on to either Saudi Arabia or Juventus for £35m, sticking with the current group would not be a complete disaster. It would also allow Edu and Arteta to invest the money in other areas.

Resurrect Martin Zubimendi deal

One Rice alternative identified prior to Arsenal submitting two bids to West Ham was Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, who has been a long-term target and previously described as being very close to a move to the Emirates for £53m as per his release clause at the La Liga club.

Zubimendi has previously denounced links to both the Gunners and Barcelona after securing Champions League football with Sociedad for next season. But if Arsenal can turn his head and convince him on their project then his club would be unable to stand in their way.

The likes of Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber had their sights set on Arsenal while Rice was previously convinced of a move to the Emirates, such is the club’s pulling power. However, it remains to be seen whether Zubimendi would be interested if Arsenal returned for him.

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