Arsenal news: Declan Rice contract looms; Julian Alvarez hopebait fans shouldn't fall for

Declan Rice is next in line for a contract extension

After Mikel Arteta's contract extension was officially announced this week, attention turned to what's next.

A fresh report from Sami Mokbel of the BBC suggests Declan Rice is close to extending his Arsenal contract. It is believed negotiations are now at the 'advanced' stage, which is a term that will please every single gamer out there. I know it pleased me.

It makes sense that Arsenal follow up Arteta's extension with Rice. The two go hand-in-hand, and they are both pivotal to Arsenal's long-term future.

Arteta changed many things at Arsenal, but bringing in Rice as a marquee signing elevated the club into genuine Premier League title contenders. It took some attempts, but they got there in the end.

Rice is expected to see a significant pay rise. No exact amount has been put on his contract yet, but the BBC thinks he'll be in the same ballpark as Arsenal's highest earner, Bukayo Saka (£350,000 per week).

You have to spend big to win big. It's not rocket science to suggest Rice should be among Arsenal's highest earners, after all.

Julian Alvarez's name keeps appearing (no wonder why)

We are in that weird period between the summer transfer window and the January transfer window where clicks, at least for general publications, are harder to come by.

Therefore, it's no surprise to see Julian Alvarez's name doing the rounds again when it comes to the Arsenal rumour mill.

As January draws closer, you will see Alvarez's name increase. Do not fall for it, unless something concrete comes out.

Right now, we are in the incredibly vague 'open to' stage, where apparently Alvarez is open to joining Arsenal - of course he is. I would be open to being paid six figures per week - wouldn't you?

The truth is that it doesn't matter whether a player is open to joining a club or not. It's meaningless, and fans shouldn't fall victim to being sucked into a false sense of optimism around signing a player. We'll see how interested he truly is when, you know, the window opens.

A new Nwaneri enters the Arsenal equation

According to Arsenal Youth expert Jeorge Bird, Emerson Nwaneri was recently involved in Arsenal's first team training - Alongside Charlie Purdy, Ife Ibrahim and, of course, Max Dowman.

Emerson Nwaneri is the younger brother of Ethan, whom Arsenal fans know well. Ethan is currently out on loan with Borussia Dortmund, but his Arsenal future is still very much in the equation.

Emerson is just 16 years old, but he's already making great progress. He is still incredibly versatile, with the ability to play in midfield or even at right-back. It will surprise nobody to know he has the same technical ability as his older brother, Ethan.

Mikel Arteta reflects on his first day as Arsenal manager

New crazy Mikel Arteta quote just dropped!

In the most Arteta way possible, he has revealed one of the first things he did was tear down his office.

“On my first day as new Arsenal manager, I had demolished the office," said Arteta. “I just destroyed the office and put everything on the floor: the computers, the laptops, the cables. Then I brought everybody in”

“I said: ‘If you want me to help you enjoy your profession and your life and the passion that we all share, you have two minutes to put this in order and be ready to work together.’ That could have been my managerial career because if that would have stayed the same way, I had no job anymore!”

Thankfully, it wasn't the end of his managerial career - but it was very much the beginning. He's got Arsenal playing the way Arsenal should, and yes he might be a little unorthodox, but we wouldn't have him any way.

Perhaps Arteta was sending a message. After all, he didn't just tear down his office - he tore down the Arsenal team he inherited to its very spine. Now, only two players survive from the pre-Arteta era.

As always, Come on You Gunners.

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