West Ham captain Declan Rice embraces Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. AFP Photo

Paul Kennedy

By the time you read this column, chances are Declan Rice will have made the move from West Ham, his boyhood club, to Arsenal.

Reports this week claim a deal is as good as done, and the 24-year-old is about to undergo a medical before signing for the Gooners.

The fee is thought to be somewhere in the region of US$126 million, a new British transfer record.

I rate Rice. I think he’s a fabulous player, and he’ll be a great addition to the Arsenal midfield.

I feel sorry for West Ham having lost their starman, but with a bucket load of cash, then the blow of losing Rice could well be softened if they spend the money wisely.

Three, four or even five good-quality players could be acquired with the cash Arsenal have coughed up for the midfielder.

I think it was a foregone conclusion Rice would leave West Ham. Lifting the Europa Conference League, their first major trophy in more than 40 years, was a great way for him to say goodbye.

But with talent such as his, there was no doubt he would leave West Ham when a bigger club came calling.

What I found interesting was the cheeky bid supposedly made by Manchester City ahead of Arsenal sealing the deal.

I thought this was a bit odd, as Pep Guardiola doesn’t really need him.

Then, thanks to football pundit Eni Aluko, who has more than 100 caps with the England women’s team, it all became clear.

Eni suggested that City were never in for Rice, and the bid was only made after some shenanigans between Pep and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

The current football executive thinks Arteta, who of course, was Pep’s number two at City for many years, rang his old boss and asked for a solid.

Eni said this week: “I don’t think Manchester City actually want to sign Declan Rice, I think what’s going on is Arteta has picked up the phone to Pep [Guardiola] and said ‘listen, Arsenal are going to do the incremental bid approach, if you put a higher bid in, that will push my owner.”

I guess we’ll never know the truth. Pep and Mikel will take that secret to the grave. But if Eni is correct, and having worked as a director at both Aston Villa and the LA-based Angels FC I’ve no reason to doubt her, then it’s a very canny move by Arteta.

Using his BFF to get Arsenal’s owners to dig deeper into their pockets and sign his top target is shrewd business.

Now let’s see what happens on the pitch, and whether Mikel’s poker-playing move actual pays off. VNS