One of Arsenal’s star men has been so disappointing at Euro 2024 that one former Gunners ace is wondering if he is watching the same player who shone so brightly under Mikel Arteta.
Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to Declan Rice, one year after swapping West Ham United for the Emirates Stadium, is that all the debate surrounding his £105 million transfer fee has gone pretty quiet.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a £100 million-plus signing looks like. You can forget your Enzo Fernandez or your Philippe Coutinhos, Rice was the driving force behind another Premier League title charge in 2024/25. A monstrous presence both on and off the ball.
A distributor and a destroyer rolled into one. A ball-winner, a ball-carrier, and increasingly a box-crasher too. Rice was already pretty outstanding for West Ham but reached another level at Arsenal. He played more games – 51 – and scored more goals – seven – than in any of his previous campaigns.
So, Emmanuel Petit wonders, what on earth has gone wrong? Why is Declan Rice the latest player to pull on the England jersey and see the standards of his performance drop considerably?
Arsenal’s Declan Rice struggling at Euro 2024 for England
Petit is laying the blame squarely at the door of one Gareth Southgate. The England manager now facing arguably the toughest test of his Three Lions career in the aftermath of Thursday’s dismal 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Another game in which England scored early and then ceded possession. Another game in which Rice looked like a pale immitation of his Arsenal best.
“I think Declan Rice is trying to find his best position on the pitch,” Petit, a Premier League and FA Cup winner under Arsene Wenger in 1998, tells talkSPORT (21 June, 12pm).
“When I look at what he was doing with Arsenal, they are all playing with closed eyes all the time because they have trust and confidence in each other.
“I don’t think this is the case (with England) because the balance of the team is not right.”
Petit feels that Rice has been hung out to dry by the ramshackle nature of Southgate’s midfield set-up. Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to look like a square peg in a round hole alongside Arsenal’s record signing, Southgate leaving more natural midfielders Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton on the bench.
Then again, that does not explain why Rice has taken to misplacing passes he’d normally complete with his eyes shut at Arsenal.
“Sometimes, when I look at him, I am thinking he should be deeper. He should be higher, he should be pressing more, he should be more present in the midfield,” Petit adds. “Even on the ball, sometimes he loses some easy balls.
“I don’t recognise (him).”
Gareth Southgate urged to make changes
England will still top their Euros group with a win against Slovenia on Tuesday. That will do little to ease the pressure on Southgate, however, Phil Foden another wonderfully gifted footballer who’s talents are going wasted on the international stage.
“(Rice’s) confidence is not right but the balance of the team doesn’t help him,” sighs 1998 World Cup winner Petit, feeling that Foden has the attributes to play a Martin Odegaard sort of role if utilised correctly.
“Look at the partnership between Declan Rice and Odegaard. He can have the same partnership with Phil Foden.
“I’m trying to work out what Southgate wants, with and without the ball. I don’t get it. If I am a midfield player (under Southgate), I am asking; ‘What does he want from me, really?’.”
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