Transfer expert Dean Jones says Arsenal are 'willing' to break their club record to sign midfield target Declan Rice this summer, but not the British record.

The Lowdown: Rice wanted

It was reported last week that Arsenal were willing to break the British transfer record to sign Rice this summer, after Chelsea had previously broken it in the January transfer window by signing midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for a reported £106.8m.

The Gunners are claimed to be willing to pay as much as €134m (£120m) for the West Ham United and England midfielder, who is firmly on their radar.

The Latest: Rice update

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones says that although the North London club are willing to break their own transfer record to sign Rice, he is unsure that they would be willing to go above £100m and break the British record:

"I think Arsenal are definitely willing to break their own transfer record to sign Declan Rice, but I'm not sure they're going to go above and beyond £100m and break the British record.

"I think West Ham will be hopeful that that happens. They're hopeful that they can get £110m for Rice. I can understand why they would set their stall out at that level. I'm just not 100% sure that it's realistic."

The Verdict: Stick to principles

Mikel Arteta's team must keep sticking to their principles, and not pay over the odds for their targets.

They were in talks to sign winger Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but were prepared to walk away from the deal as Chelsea eventually struck an agreement worth a whopping £88.5m to sign him.

They also had two bids rejected for midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion, the second thought to be worth £70m.

Instead, they brought in Leandro Trossard and Jorginho for cheaper prices, and can now focus their attention on spending bigger this summer with the money that they have saved.

Lauded as a ‘monster’, a ‘force of nature’, a ‘leader’ and a ‘serious talent’ by journalist Rob Blanchette, Rice is very highly rated, and only Thomas Partey can match him for average tackles (2.3) per match in the Premier League in the Gunners squad, while nobody can match him for interceptions (1.6), suggesting that he would be a valuable addition to the middle of the park.

Now, they will have to decide again how much they think that he is worth, and line up alternative targets if unwilling to meet his valuation.