Declan Rice will be an Arsenal player. With the whole transfer drama and the inability to settle the payment structures, I think West Ham are just doing all they can to fine tune Arsenal’s offer and perhaps see what Manchester City has got in store. But they believe Manchester City won’t go much higher than their 1st bid and they also know the player’s preference: Arsenal.
Arsenal's interest is huge and this is used by West Ham to set a high price and in my opinion that is reasonable because Declan Rice is a player who has good abilities and is also very young so this player is a suitable team investment for the future.
Arteta is targeting Rice as their main recruit this season, I don't understand why Arteta likes this player so much even though Arsenal's midfield is currently occupied by several players who have very good quality.
Declan Rice is the team captain at West Ham and of course, West Ham will set a high price for any club interested in recruiting Declan Rice. Also, even though Arsenal's midfield is currently filled with players who have good quality, that doesn't mean Arsenal are satisfied with the potential of the players they have. Because of course, with the inclusion of Declan Rice in their squad, it will be easier for Arteta to rotate players and this also makes the main players and reserves both have good quality.