Arsenal hold talks “in recent days” to sign £100m star

Speaking to the media recently, Arsenal co owner Josh Kroenke admitted that Declan Rice’s arrival was a “big moment” in the project.

Alongside Mikel Arteta’s appointment as manager, it has been one of the most notable catalysts for success at the Emirates Stadium.

That said, that success has been a long time in the making. As the old saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. Arteta has been at the helm for six and a half years. Rice has been here three years.

However, at long last, they are now Premier League champions. For supporters, it’s been a longer wait than Arteta and Rice have experienced. 22 whole years have gone by.

So, now is the time to build on that. The Gunners are in a commanding position to negotiate now that the transfer window is here and the Kroenkes must push for more of those aforementioned big moments.

Where Arsenal could invest this summer

We all know Arteta loves recruiting from within the Premier League. The likes of Rice, David Raya and Eberechi Eze are a testament to that.

Now in 2026, they could repeat that trick with three of their leading targets believed to be already playing in England.

Morgan Rogers appears to be the number one choice to bolster the forward line. Contact has been established with the player’s camp but Aston Villa are reluctant to sell.

The same message comes out of Bournemouth too with regards to the availability of French striker Eli Junior Kroupi. The Gunners are targeting a major move for the teenager but are set to be met with resistance from the Cherries.

Rogers and Kroupi are not the only targets from the Premier League. Indeed, according to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have begun exploring what it may take to bring Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali to the club.

Romano said: “Tonali is not that concrete for Manchester United because the transfer fee and salary is considered too high. Tonali could be an option for Manchester City but their focus is on Elliot Anderson. Arsenal made some calls over recent days for Tonali and there could be more clubs joining the race.”

Previous reports have suggested this could be a very expensive deal to do with the Toon searching for a fee in the region of £80m-£100m to let him go.

Why Tonali could be Arsenal’s new Rice

Kroenke mentioned it was a major moment when the England international came to Arsenal and it is very difficult to challenge that statement.

He’s right; the level of performance the midfielder has demonstrated since leaving West Ham United has been remarkable.

In the east end of London he had shown he was starting to become an elite player but it’s in north London where he has really met his potential.

Rice is one of the best in the world, he’s up for the PFA Player of the Season award and some are even putting him in the conversation to win the Ballon d’Or. That’s how special this midfielder is.

Three years on, they could repeat that move by bringing Tonali to N5. While he may not be the rampaging bull that Rice can be from the middle of the park, there are plenty of similarities to discuss here, not least the fact they’d both be moving to the Gunners as one of the best players in the league from outside of the typical big six sides.

When it comes to scoring goals and assisting them, the Italian has never been a regular source. Yet, he is improving in that department, just as Rice was before he made the move from the London Stadium.

In 2025/26, Tonali scored three goals and supplied seven assists in all competitions. He’s nearly neck and neck with Rice who scored four and also registered seven assists.

As Rice was when he first made his mega £105m switch, Tonali is more of a deep lying number 6. That said, despite not being the same physical presence that Arsenal’s club-record signing is, they share some common traits.

According to Scout Lab, one of the most similar players in Europe’s top five leagues last season was another Arsenal target in the shape of Mateus Fernandes. The Portuguese has already been compared to Rice which tells you all you need to know.

Rice’s engine is elite and he’s got this never say die attitude that carries him to 90 minutes in every game.

Tonali may well be more of a shuttler than that, more of a deep-lying player but when it comes to their defensive metrics and their progressive numbers there’s not a lot at all between them.

Indeed, Tonali actually makes more dribbles per 90 and only just lags behind for progressive actions, albeit Rice is superior at carrying.

From a passing point of view, however, he’s more progressive and they register a similar number of forward passes per 90. This is not a midfielder who just wants to sit there and play sideways passes. He wants to dictate play and keep things ticking over.

A key area of Rice’s game is his ability to recover the ball but Tonali is only just behind him for that metric in 2025/26.

The numbers and indeed the eye test suggest that it is impossible to suggest they are exactly alike but there are more similarities than you would typically assume. Call Tonali a mini Rice, if you will.