Arsenal have now been given an exciting update on their pursuit of West Ham United captain Declan Rice by Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg.

What's the latest on Declan Rice to Arsenal?

Football Insider have recently reported Rice has told his friends he has played his final Premier League game for West Ham, opening up the door for a move elsewhere in the summer, with Arsenal said to be in pole position.

Although the Gunners are currently leading the race, there will also be competition from Chelsea, as well as both Manchester clubs, but the report claims the Englishman wants to remain in London, which could give Mikel Arteta a real boost in the race for his signature.

The Mirror report that Arteta wants to bring in the central midfielder to replace the outgoing Granit Xhaka, while also adding that West Ham are ready to let him leave this summer, should their asking price be met.

That said, there will be fierce competition for the £60k-per-week star, as Plettenberg has recently told Sky Sports he is "at the top" of Bayern Munich's list of transfer targets for the summer, having already held a telephone conversation with Thomas Tuchel.

However, the Sky Sports reportes provides some exciting news for Arsenal fans, as he claims that Bayern are "running out of time", while also adding: "Arsenal are further along and he could switch to the Gunners immediately."

Will Rice leave West Ham this summer?

It appears as though the 24-year-old is edging towards exiting the London Stadium this summer, with manager David Moyes admitting he could leave, while he has previously outlined that he wants to play in the Champions League.

That could potentially open the door for a move to the Emirates Stadium, and he would be an excellent addition to Arteta's squad, having been the Hammers' best performer in the Premier League this season, averaging a 7.01 WhoScored rating.

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As previously mentioned, Arsenal are looking at signing the England international to replace Xhaka, and he would be a real improvement defensively speaking, having averaged more tackles, interceptions and blocks per 90 than the 30-year-old over the past year.

Hailed as "dominant" by journalist Charles Watts earlier this year, Rice should now be coming into his prime years at the age of 24, and the Gunners should move swiftly to secure his signature, given that Bayern also appear to be seriously interested.