Arsenal threatened by Declan Rice's loyalty to West Ham and Man City's pull

 Declan Rice's future remains up in the air, with Arsenal battling to fight off competition from Manchester City while also trying to stump up the cash to persuade West Ham into selling

The future of Declan Rice seems pretty straightforward - with Arsenal wanting him and the West Ham midfielder equally keen on them.

A perfect summer football marriage lies ahead, then. Only underneath, it is way more complicated for the England ace.

For starters, he is not the one with the overriding power to dictate his destination. With two years left on his £60,000-a-week West Ham contract, co-owner David Sullivan and the rest of the board hold that edge for another 12 months.

Yes, Sullivan has already shown himself to be a man of his word by insisting the club will honour their promise to Rice that he could up root in this window, especially on the back of the recent Europa Conference League triumph.

However, that sort of generosity does not, indeed, cannot extend to accepting a well-below-the-going-rate offer from Arsenal - when others are willing to pay a considerably greater sum - maybe £30million more - for his services.

Namely, the two Manchester clubs, or even a Chelsea or Bayern Munich.

That’s because Rice is world class. He’s 25. All things being equal, therefore, he is going to get even better. Therefore, he is worth £100m this summer and, taking into account that football-mad inflation is even more crazy than that of the UK economy just now, he will still be worth around that next summer despite the contract running down.

The Irons know that. They, therefore, do not have to sell to Rice’s first choice of club. The player knows that.

And that’s where the Gunners have a problem - if they don’t get it or understand his real value, fee-wise!

Now Rice is a loyal soul. That’s why he has rarely gone public about ditching the club who rescued him from the scrap heap when his beloved Chelsea released him at the age of 14.

Rice’s dad actually wants his son to go back to Stamford Bridge but that’s impossible because they are not in the Champions League.

Plus, his best pal, Mason Mount is about to leave Chelsea for Manchester United. Another reason to snub Todd Boehly’s billions.

That, in turn, brings United into the equation. However, for now, spending £110m on Rice is not their priority. They need to save that to put towards a world-class keeper, defender and striker!

Which leaves Manchester City as the final threat to Mikel Arteta’s transfer master plan to elevate his squad from title contenders to winners.

And it’s a massive threat, make no mistake.

As we’ve reported here several times in recent months, the Hammers view City’s England midfielder Kalvin Phillips as a good fit on the pitch - and someone who has the strength of character to step into Rice’s boots at the London Stadium.

That would make a bid of £80m plus Phillips worth around £120m in total - which would be irresistible for Sullivan, Karen Brady and the rest of the Irons powerbrokers, should Phillips ever approve the switch.

And Rice, given his love, gratitude and respect for the Eastenders, would definitely understand their position and is unlikely to throw the toys out the pram at the prospect of joining the Pep Guardiola’s Treble winners.

Hence, Arsenal cannot afford to delay, must not drag the heels or haggle over the odd million.

They need to launch an improved bid on last week’s rejected £80m plus £10m in add-ons by at least another £10m, and be ready to go even higher if needs be - and be quick about it - before Pep starts to open the City coffers.

As Arteta said at the end of last season, they ‘need to nail’ the transfer market!