Arsenal are “willing” to give West Ham captain Declan Rice £300,000 a week (£15.6m a year) if he agrees to join the Gunners, according to the Daily Mail.

The English tabloid claims that Mikel Arteta’s side are “set to open talks” with West Ham about signing the England international, with a £90m bid being planned.

Rice’s asking price is reportedly in excess of £100m but Arsenal are believed to be hesitant to match the valuation. They are, though, prepared to break their transfer record to secure the midfielder’s signature.

Whether the Hammers will accept their proposal, we shall have to wait and see. Rice is expected to have plenty of other suitors, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool but it has been claimed that the player’s preference would be a move to the Emirates.

This could give the Gunners a good advantage in negotiations and, with the club seemingly looking to make an early move to sign the 24-year-old this summer, they could be hoping to wrap up the deal quickly before competitors have a chance to react.