Arsenal ready to offer 'Granit Xhaka and £90m' for Declan Rice

The Gunners are keen to sign the English midfielder

As Emirates officials are ready to relax their budget constraints in preparation for the club's return to the Champions League this summer, Arsenal are about to start negotiations with West Ham on a £90 million bid for Declan Rice.

Mail Sport has learned that the club would relax restrictions on their pay bill to guarantee the team can acquire enough quality to sustain their present standing as serious Premier League contenders, in addition to providing Mikel Arteta with significant financial resources to bolster his squad.

Granit Xhaka is one of the players whose sale Arsenal would attempt to use to offset their expected expenditure.

The West Ham player is the club's top target, and Arsenal are willing to surpass their transfer record, which is presently set at £72 million for the acquisition of Nicolas Pepe in 2019 to bring in England midfielder Rice.

Surprisingly, the Gunners are unwilling to match West Ham's valuation of Rice at £100 million, despite reports that they would be ready to offer the midfielder a deal with potential weekly wages of more than £300,000.

As Arteta wants players with greater physicality in response to concerns that his squad lacked strength and power during important times of the season, it is understood within Arsenal that their pay cost will increase during the summer. Rice possesses the qualities Arteta is looking for in a player for his team.

The club is willing to support its head coach financially, but the calibre of player Arteta wants to recruit won't be cheap in terms of transfer costs and salary.

Other players the Gunners are interested in are Rice, Moussa Diaby of Bayer Leverkusen, and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace.