Arsenal are expected to break the British transfer record after agreeing a staggering £105m deal with West Ham for Declan Rice – as Kai Havertz is finally unveiled and Jurrien Timber is also a target [James Whitehead/SPP]

ARSENAL fans will be licking their lips and hitting their refresh buttons with vigour in the coming days as the Gunners close in on not one, but three new signings that will see the club splash more than £200million.

It seems Mikel Arteta has finally got his man, with Arsenal expected to break the British transfer record after agreeing a staggering £105m deal with West Ham for Declan Rice late last night (Wednesday).

The offer – said to be an initial fee of £100m plus £5m in performance-related add-ons – will see the Gunners smash their previous transfer record of £72m that they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

On going to press the two parties had almost thrashed out the final details – namely the timeframe in which the north Londoners will pay the transfer fee.

It was reported that the Hammers wanted the guaranteed portion of the fee paid by the start of 2025, preferably in two instalments, while Arsenal wanted to pay over a five-year period.

Such an issue isn’t expected to hold up the deal, however – meaning that all the Gunners have to do now is finalise personal terms with Rice and book his medical.

And just like buses, summer signings, it seems, come in threes.

Arsenal finally unveiled Kai Havertz late last night following his £65m switch across the capital from Chelsea.

The 24-year-old Germany international becomes the Gunners first signing of the summer after putting pen-to-paper on what is thought to be a five-year deal.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are also in advanced talks with Ajax over the signing of Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber, with an agreement in the region of £41.5m said to be close to completion.

The versatile 22-year-old then just has to agree personal terms and complete his medical, meaning a deal could be confirmed early next week.

Life is proving just as busy down the old Seven Sisters Road with Tottenham completing a £40m deal for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison yesterday.

Spurs have also reportedly opened talks with Wolfsburg for Micky van de Ven after making the 22-year-old Dutch centre-back one of their main summer targets.

An active week has already seen Tottenham complete the signing of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli in a deal worth an initial £17.2m, while midfielder Harry Winks is closing in on a move to Leicester City for a fee of around £10m.

All the transfer talk in the world won’t help ease the stresses of the Spurs faithful, who are fearing that German giants Bayern Munich are preparing a bumper bid for star striker Harry Kane.