Declan Rice completes British record transfer to Arsenal

England midfielder Declan Rice has completed his transfer to Arsenal, the club announced on Saturday, for what is reportedly a record fee between two British clubs of 105 million pounds (137.5 million dollars).

Hours earlier the 24-year-old said in a letter to West Ham supporters that his desire to play at the “very highest level” lay behind his decision to move to Arsenal, who are spending heavily in a bid to challenge for the Premier League title next season.

Declan Rice has penned an open letter to West Ham fans.

— West Ham United (@WestHam) July 15, 2023

Arsenal’s Sporting Director Edu said: “Declan is a player with fantastic ability and a proven record at both club and international levels.

“The process of this transfer has been a big team effort with a clear plan, and we are so happy that Declan is joining us.”

West Ham pummel Perth

West Ham, meanwhile, moved on from the departure of Rice on Saturday with a 6-2 pre-season friendly victory over Perth Glory at Optus Stadium.

Having earlier in the day confirmed Rice’s drawn-out exit, West Ham showed slick forward passing in front of 24,723 fans.

A superb performance from goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski helped the Hammers overcome several lapses in their second game since last month’s Europa Conference League triumph. 

West Ham, who finished 14th in last season’s English Premier League, will wrap up their brief Australian tour against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday in Perth.

With several star players absent, a youthful West Ham hit the scoreboard in the second minute after a low cross from Dan Chesters diverted into the leg of Glory defender Darryl Lachman.

After a sluggish start, Glory began to penetrate a scrambling West Ham defence only to be denied by Fabianski on multiple occasions.

West Ham made Glory rue those missed chances when Pablo Fornals was brought down in the box by Johnny Koutroumbis, who received a yellow card.

Striker Gianluca Scamacca, who has been linked with a move to Roma, easily dispatched the penalty to give West Ham an early stranglehold.

But Glory dictated down the right wing and were finally rewarded moments before half-time through an own goal from defender Luizao. 

West Ham coach David Moyes rang the changes and it paid dividends when star Jarrod Bowen rifled a left-foot shot into the net to break Glory’s resistance. 

He completed a brace in the dying minutes to cap West Ham’s energetic performance.