Revealed: Why Declan Rice snubbed Man City transfer to join Arsenal as £105m midfielder addresses rivalry with Rodri

In a lengthy sitdown with The Athletic, Rice explained exactly why he wanted to join Arsenal when they came calling last summer, even though reigning European champions Manchester City were vying for his signature at the same time and he could have ended up in the same midfield as Rodri instead.

Manchester City were willing to pay £90 million ($112.8m) for Rice, with both them and Arsenal seeing such offers rejected by West Ham. But once the Gunners took the bidding to £105m ($131.6m), a figure that would make Rice the most expensive British footballer in history, City chose to withdraw their interest. Even they had stayed in the race beyond that, the England midfielder may still have chosen Arsenal.

"This project seemed more exciting and that’s why I chose to come to Arsenal, because I believe we’re on to big things here," Rice explained.

On the rivalry that developed with Rodri now that they have remained opponents instead of team-mates, he added: "I enjoy it. We're different players, I feel. With Rodri, he was born in Spain, he’s always been a natural No 6. You can just tell by the way he plays that he's worked under Pep [Guardiola] for so long. He's a lot more structured than I am. I'd say I'm a lot more off-the-cuff. Obviously, this season I've been more structured. But in terms of the way I play, I feel like…being free a little bit more. There are different things that we complement each other on - but no doubt, he's the best in the world."

Arsenal have their eyes set on a first Premier League title in 20 years, but City stand in the way. The Gunners lead the way by a point, but their rivals have a game in hand that would be enough to get them ahead. As well as facing Bournemouth and Everton, Arsenal's biggest test appears to be a trip to Manchester United in their penultimate game on May 12. Losing that contest could all but hand the title to City.