He’s just like Rice: Arsenal line up “one of the best CMs in the world” for £45m

It’s been a Premier League title years in the making at Arsenal, with the catalyst perhaps having been the club’s decisive actions back in 2023.

Despite rampant rival interest from Manchester City, the Gunners’ hard work paid off, having tempted a certain Declan Rice into making a £105m move to the Emirates.

David Raya and Gabriel have a case themselves, but Rice has arguably been the defining figure in Mikel Arteta’s side edging City to the title, with that successful transfer pursuit of three years ago looking ever more like a coup.

He’s a leader, a monster in midfield, but the 27-year-old can’t do it all alone in the centre of the park. Thankfully, help could be on the way this summer.

Arsenal lining up move for £45m midfielder this summer

A year on from a summer that saw both Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi arrive in north London, it would appear that a new midfielder is again on the agenda for Arteta and Andrea Berta this time around.

Norgaard, rather bizarrely, has racked up just 56 minutes of Premier League football this season, while Zubimendi’s form hit the skids in 2026, replaced by young Myles Lewis-Skelly in recent weeks.

Finding a long-term partner to Rice is key, as is also finding someone who could potentially ease the burden on him, with the former West Ham United man making 54 appearances in 2025/26, 48 of which have come from the start.

With that in mind, TEAMtalk have provided a rather intriguing update, suggesting that the Gunners are among the clubs exploring a possible move for Manchester City midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders.

As per the report, City could consider offers in the region of £45m this summer, with the Dutchman having seen his game time take a hit under Pep Guardiola, despite an initially bright start to life at the Etihad.

A move from an Arsenal point of view is not said to be advanced as yet, with Juventus showing more serious interest, yet an Emirates switch cannot be ruled out for the former AC Milan man.

​​​​​​​Reijnders could be Rice 2.0 for Arteta and Arsenal

2025/26 all began so impressively for Reijnders, the 30-cap Netherlands international scoring his first goal for the Citizens on debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers, while also notching a delightful assist for Erling Haaland.

A big, powerful midfielder, yet with the elegance to match, he looked for all the world like the midfield asset that City were crying out for, particularly amid Rodri’s stop-start impact due to injury.

Frustratingly for the £45m man, however, his impact has waned since then, with Guardiola typically favouring an experienced pairing of Rodri and Bernardo Silva for the run-in.

In all, the one-time PSV Eindhoven star has started just 18 league games all season, and has been an unused substitute in seven of the last ten in all competitions, repeatedly overlooked by the departing Catalan.

A difficult first season under Guardiola is rarely fatal, however, and shouldn’t be too much of a concern for those at Arsenal, with this still a player tipped to become “one of the best midfielders in the world” by Dutch icon, Frank Rijkaard.

Indeed, even amid his limited minutes, Reijnders has still caught the eye, racking up five goals and two assists, while creating four ‘big chances’ and averaging a respectable 89% pass accuracy rate.

Rice, particularly from corners, has been a creative weapon after supplying 17 ‘big chances’, but his record otherwise is not too dissimilar to the City man, having scored five goals, registered four assists and achieved an 87% pass accuracy rate.

Reijnders, it must be said, isn’t a Rice-like, ball-winning monster as yet, although where he does also mirror the Englishman is in his ball-carrying ability, so graceful when gliding up the field from deep.

That can be seen in the fact that even in a difficult season from a personal point of view, he still ranks in the top 8% of midfielders for progressive carries per 90, as per DataMB.

There’s nothing better than witnessing a powerhouse midfielder breezing past opponents, as Rice himself has repeatedly shown at Arsenal, ranking only just ahead in the top 5% for that same metric.

With 14 goals and assists in Serie A last season, having created eight ‘big chances’, Reijnders highlighted what he could produce if given more consistent game time, suggesting that a fresh start under Arteta’s watch could be just what is needed.

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The Spaniard has worked his magic in helping Rice to develop as arguably the cream of the crop when it comes to top-flight or European midfielders – why can’t he do the same with Reijnders?