Andy Carroll implores former West Ham teammate Declan Rice to join Arsenal over Man Utd or Chelsea
Andy Carroll urges ex-West Ham teammate Declan Rice to join Arsenal this summer in place of fellow suitors Chelsea and Manchester United – he insists Mikel Arteta has done an ‘INCREDIBLE’ job at the Emirates
- Carroll and Rice spent two full seasons together in the West Ham first team
- The goalkeeper thinks Rice should play for one of the top two or three clubs in England
- Mikel Arteta could make Arsenal more attractive than Man Utd or Chelsea
Andy Carroll has suggested his former West Ham team-mate Declan Rice should join Arsenal rather than Manchester United or Chelsea when he finally decides to leave East London.
The 34-year-old has claimed Rice ‘must’ play for a ‘top two or top three’ side in the Premier League after playing an important and consistent role for the Hammers in recent seasons.
Rice could leave the London Stadium on a free basis at the end of his contract, which currently runs until the summer of 2024.
However, Carroll believes the recent England goalscorer could and should leave during the upcoming summer transfer window to join a title contender.
With Arsenal’s young squad and their top form under Mikel Arteta this campaign, Carroll believes Arsenal is the best fit for Rice at this stage of his career.
Declan Rice has impressed for West Ham this year despite being embroiled in a relegation scandal
Rice’s former teammate Andy Carroll thinks he should leave East London to join a ‘top squad’
Joining Mikel Arteta and his young Arsenal squad could be the most attractive option for Rice
He explains this in an interview with Subway“I don’t really see Declan Rice leaving the Premier League.
West Ham is not doing very well at the moment, but Declan loves West Ham. I was at the club with him when he was a breaking kid – he’s a great guy and a great player.
We all know he has to go to a top club. I don’t see him leaving outside England, but he should go to a top three or top two club.
Carroll spent seven full seasons on West Ham’s books, starting with a loan spell from Liverpool in 2012-13. He then spent two years with Rice as he graduated to the first team in 2017.
Since then, Rice has played a vital role for both club and country, most recently opening the scoring for England against Italy in the opening match of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
“To be honest, I would love to see Declan at Arsenal. I’m not an Arsenal fan, but I like the way they’re playing at the moment,” said Carroll.
“The way Mikel Arteta gets them to play and the young guys come through – you see the team and the average age is incredible.”
Rice recently scored his third goal for the Three Lions in their 2-1 win over Italy in Naples
Under Gareth Southgate, the 24-year-old is a fixture in England’s midfield
Arsenal are confident they can fend off competition from Manchester United and Chelsea to convince Rice to move to North London to join the ranks of current Premier League leaders.
Arteta is keen to bring in midfield reinforcements this summer after failing to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton during the January transfer window.
One of Carroll’s previous clubs, Liverpool, has also shown interest in signing Rice in the past, although this season’s form under Jurgen Klopp has left much to be desired.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Liverpool – they have some fantastic players,” added Carroll.
“Sometimes you have to go down to get back up – Liverpool bounce back and they’ll be great next season, whether Jürgen Klopp is there or not, I have no doubt they’ll turn it around.”
