Pep Guardiola admits he would love to have Arsenal star in his team (1 Viewer)

[Sani1974]

According to Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, every club in the Premier League would love to have Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice on their team. Last summer, there were strong rumors linking Rice to a move to Man City, with the Citizens reportedly being the front-runners to sign him from West Ham United.

However, Arsenal managed to secure a deal for the England international, who recently captained his country in a friendly against Belgium. Rice, who is 25 years old, has played a crucial role for the Gunners this season, appearing in 39 matches across all competitions. He has scored six goals and provided seven assists so far.

Guardiola emphasized that ahead of the significant match between Man City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, it's clear that "all the teams in the Premier League would have signed Declan Rice" if given the chance.

"Sometimes here we have many players we wanted and they didn't decide to join us," Guardiola told reporters. "He's not the first one who we wanted who didn't join us. We have a long list.

"Basically, they don't want to come or the price or whatever, so it could not happen. He made his decision, a good one, and good luck. All the teams in the Premier League would have signed Declan Rice.

"He's an international captain for the national team of England and a young player playing a lot of games regularly. That's why Arsenal pushed the way they pushed."

Ahead of Sunday's title showdown, Rice has emphasized the importance of his team approaching the match with the determination to secure all three points against the reigning champions in Manchester.

"We have got to go to the Etihad, which is going to be really tough, but if you want to get past that barrier of Arsenal being labelled stuff, you have to go there and win," he told reporters.
"We have to show that steeliness and character to prove we can be one of the best teams.

"There's no doubt that City are the best team in the world at the minute, but we have full confidence and belief as a group, and the manager, that we can get a result."