Sir Keir Starmer tells the bizarre story of how he tricked Declan Rice into signing for Arsenal from West Ham in £105m deal

Arsenal emerged victorious in the battle against Manchester City to secure the services of the talented England midfielder, sealing the deal for a reported fee of around £105 million ($137 million). Rice's transfer marked a significant milestone for Arsenal, making him the club's most expensive signing of all time, following his nine-year tenure at West Ham. And now, Starmer has claimed that apart from Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta, he also played a crucial role with his son at the London Stadium.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Starmer said: "So, when we played away at West Ham last year and Declan was still a West Ham player I took my son. Mark Noble, Mr West Ham [now the club’s sporting director], took us down to meet Declan. And so my boy had his programme open ready for signing and obviously we put the contract [for Arsenal] in underneath! Declan signed it and thought he was signing the programme, but actually he was signing for Arsenal!"

With Arsenal setting their sights on clinching their first Premier League title in two decades, they face stiff competition from City. Currently leading by a narrow margin, the Gunners are aware of the challenges posed by their rivals, who have a game in hand that could potentially tilt the scales in their favour. But despite being a staunch Arsenal fan, Starmer is still not convinced that the Gunners can reclaim the English crown.

“It depends on City,” Starmer admitted. “It’s the best title race for ages, this year, and I have been going every game home and away. City are good though. Look at [Kevin] De Bruyne. Look at [Erling] Haaland. These are great players.”

As Arsenal prepare for crucial encounters against Bournemouth and Everton, their ultimate challenge looms large with a pivotal fixture against Manchester United awaiting them in their penultimate game on May 12th. The outcome of this showdown could potentially determine Arsenal's fate in their quest for Premier League glory, with a defeat all but handing the title to City. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola will lead his troops against Wolves on Saturday. That will be followed by matches against Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham respectively.