Declan Rice is close to signing a new lucrative long-term contract with Arsenal after joining the club for a club-record £105million fee back in the summer of 2023

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Declan Rice's bumper new Arsenal contract is on the home stretch. The £105million midfielder is poised to commit the best years of his career to the Premier League champions - following in the footsteps of his title-winning manager.

When asked if Gunners fans can expect an announcement soon, Arteta explained: “Yes, my feeling is that he is very happy here.

"Every conversation I have with him, he wants to continue here for the long term and it will be a matter of time when we resolve that.”

Rice recently told Norwegian TV that Arteta's contract extension made him want to stay at the club, telling Viaplay: "Yeah, of course. I think for sure, I've been so happy playing for Arsenal over the last few years.

"[It's] probably the happiest I've been playing football so yeah, it's been amazing and the journey has been great so far. Last year, obviously winning the Premier League was one of the happiest moments of my career. So yeah, for sure, let's continue this."

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His new deal is expected to be worth up to £350,000 per week in wages, elevating him into the same bracket as top-earner Bukayo Saka.

The powerhouse England anchorman would also be poised to bank a salary increase worth upwards of £100,000-a-week during a time when Arsenal told staff that 60 jobs were at risk due to a cost-cutting review.

Arteta added on his 27-year-old lynchpin: “I think he has been very consistent again. What we demand from him every year is very difficult to do and difficult to maintain. He is doing it and big credit to him.

"You have big players for big matches. We know the kind of performance we want from Dec and the rest of the boys to get away from there with three points."

Rice is expected to be ready to start for Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday after missing the shock Carabao Cup fourth-round defeat at Fleetwood Town.

He was spotted holding his right hamstring in the final stages of last weekend's 2-0 win over Everton but trained as normal on Friday at London Colney.

Kai Havertz is thought to be next in line for a new contract, while mystery over Martin Odegaard's long-term future lingers.