Arsenal have officially confirmed the long-awaited signing of West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice for a club-record fee.

Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Declan Rice from West Ham United, more than a week after the two clubs came to a full agreement on the fee and payment structure of the midfielder’s transfer.

Sporting Director Edu said: “Declan is a player with fantastic ability and a proven record at both club and international levels. The process of this transfer has been a big team effort with a clear plan, and we are so happy that Declan is joining us.

“Declan is a high-quality, young international player who will add great strength to our squad, fitting so well into our strategy of competing with young talented players at the centre of our club.

“It’s great that Declan will be joining up with Mikel, our coaches and his new teammates in good time ahead of the new season.”

Manager Mikel Arteta added: “We’re really happy that Declan is joining us. He is a player with tremendous ability, who has been performing at a high level in the Premier League and for England for a number of seasons now.

“Declan is bringing undoubted quality to the club and he is an exceptional talent who has the potential to be very successful here.

“Declan has great experience in the Premier League at only 24 years old. He has captained a very good West Ham team and as we all saw, he recently lifted a European trophy.

“The responsibility and role he has taken on has been very impressive and we are really excited that he is joining us.”

The Gunners originally agreed a fee of £100m plus £5m in add-ons with West Ham all the way back in June, but it took a while to iron out all the details.

Rice’s former club wanted the guaranteed fee paid in as few instalments as possible, and the two clubs eventually agreed on payment terms on July 4th.

In the end, Arsenal will pay the £100m fee in three instalments over 24 months.

But even after that was agreed, there were further delays over the following week.

After Rice held and passed his Arsenal medical, he then returned to his well-earned holiday before producing the media content necessary to formally announce the deal.

The 24-year-old made 50 appearances for West Ham and 11 appearances for England over the last 12 months.

With the Europa Conference League final taking place between the end of the club season and the international break, Rice didn’t have any time off until mid-June.

Having taken that time off, Rice and Arsenal finally put the finishing touches on his transfer, which is now confirmed.

The fans will look forward to seeing the England international in action over the remainder of pre-season, with the tour of the USA, the Emirates Cup, and the Community Shield still to come before the new campaign gets underway.