Arsenal have confirmed the signing of England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for £100m plus £5m in add-ons.
The Gunners' announcement comes after the 24-year-old issued an open letter to Hammers fans saying how 'tough' a decision it had been to leave the club.
Rice has signed a five-year contract with Arsenal in a deal which has the option of a further year.
"I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they've been on," he said.
"Not last season but the season before, they [only] finished fifth, but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing.
"Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Manchester City."
Rice has moved on after captaining West Ham to the Europa Conference League title last season.
He is Arsenal's third major signing this summer as they look to go one better than their second-placed finish in the Premier League last season.
His arrival follows the recruitment of Germany international Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a £65m deal and Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax for a fee which could rise to £38.5m.
"He is a player with tremendous ability, who has been performing at a high level in the Premier League and for England for a number of seasons now," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
"Declan is bringing undoubted quality to the club and he is an exceptional talent who has the potential to be very successful here.
"Declan has great experience in the Premier League at only 24 years old. He has captained a very good West Ham team and as we all saw, he recently lifted a European trophy.
"The responsibility and role he has taken on has been very impressive and we are really excited that he is joining us."
Arsenal succeeded with their third bid for Rice, having had two earlier offers rejected which were below West Ham's £100m asking price.
Premier League champions Manchester City withdrew from trying to buy the player after they had a £90m offer turned down.
The initial fee for Rice equals the £100m City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.
The Premier League's record transfer is the £105.6m Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January 2023.
Earlier this summer, Jude Bellingham moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m in a deal which could rise to £115m with add-ons.
Latest Stories
-
Guinness World Records: Nigerian woman paints nails for three days
3 mins -
Season 2 of ‘I’m in Love with Boma Ye’ returns this May on Joy Prime
5 mins -
Akufo-Addo’s disrespect of chiefs won’t be tolerated – Haruna Iddrisu
10 mins -
Chalobah and Jackson score as Chelsea defeat Tottenham
13 mins -
NPP praises Police, EC for successful Ejisu by-election
30 mins -
2024 Ramadan Cup: Bawumia donates 20,000 to four teams as Ashaiman lifts trophy
32 mins -
PMI Ghana Chapter members tour Kasoa BSP Project
32 mins -
Child Rights International pledges support for toddler mauled by dog
34 mins -
Cedi’s woes due to diminishing expectations of investors concern about Ghana’s competitiveness – Prof. Peprah
40 mins -
EIU optimistic Ghana’s debt-carrying capacity could easily improve in future
56 mins -
Access Bank Ghana Plc records commendable financial growth in quarter one, 2024
3 hours -
GFA DC charges Bashir Hayford over alleged misconduct in Bechem Utd game
3 hours -
MTN FA Cup: Dreams FC beat Soccer Intellectuals to make semis
4 hours -
Ayorkor Botchwey champions transformative investment, trade agenda
4 hours -
KNUST, University of Rwanda share experiences in implementation of Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
5 hours