Andy Carroll implores former West Ham teammate Declan Rice to join Arsenal over Man Utd or Chelsea

Andy Carroll has suggested that his former West Ham team-mate Declan Rice should join Arsenal over Manchester United or Chelsea when he eventually decides to leave East London.

The 34-year-old has asserted that Rice 'needs' to be playing for a 'top two or top three' side in the Premier League after playing an important and consistent role for the Hammers over the last few seasons.

Rice could depart from the London Stadium for free at the end of his contract, which currently runs until the summer of 2024.

However, Carroll believes the recent England goalscorer could and should leave to join a title contender during the upcoming summer transfer window.

With Arsenal's young squad and their table-topping form under Mikel Arteta this campaign, Carroll believes that Arsenal is the best fit for Rice at this stage of his career.

He explained in an interview with Metro: ‘I can’t really see Declan Rice leaving the Premier League.

‘West Ham aren’t doing great at the moment but Declan loves West Ham. I was at the club with him when he was a kid coming through – he is a great guy and a great player.

'We all know he needs to go to a top club. I can’t see him going outside of England, but he should go to a top-three or top-two club.

Carroll spent seven full seasons on West Ham's books beginning with a loan spell from Liverpool in 2012-13. He then spent two years with Rice when he graduated to the first team in 2017.

Since then, Rice has gone on to play a pivotal role for both club and country, most recently opening the scoring for England against Italy in the opening game of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

‘I’d like to see Declan at Arsenal to be honest – I’m not an Arsenal fan but I like the way they’re playing at the minute,' Carroll said.

‘The way Mikel Arteta has them playing and the young lads coming through – you see the team and the average age is incredible.’

Arsenal are confident they can fend off competition from Manchester United and Chelsea to convince Rice to move to North London to join the current Premier League leaders.

Arteta is reported to be keen on bringing in midfield reinforcements in the summer, having failed to land Moises Caicedo from Brighton during the January transfer window.

One of Carroll's previous clubs Liverpool have also registered interest in landing Rice in the past, although this season's form under Jurgen Klopp has left a lot to be desired.

‘I don’t know what’s going on with Liverpool – they have some fantastic players,’ Carroll added.

‘Sometimes, you need to go down to rise back up – Liverpool will bounce back and they’ll be great next season, whether Jurgen Klopp will be there or not, I have no doubt they will turn it around.’