Arsenal are experiencing their toughest moment of the season so far, and the latest Declan Rice update won’t help ease worries in north London.
The Gunners’ tough streak began with the 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, which was followed by unexpectedly crashing out of the FA Cup to Southampton on the other side of the international break.
They then crept through a Champions League quarter-final first leg against Sporting, before losing in the league to Bournemouth, giving City a huge boost in the title race.
Worrying Declan Rice omission ahead of Manchester City game
The two sides face each other this weekend, and if Pep Guardiola’s side wins that and their game in hand, they’ll be level on points with Arsenal.
It’s precisely when the side needs all their best players fit and firing, but their luck may be out.
In Arsenal’s open training session on Tuesday morning – which teams have to host as part of their participation in the Champions League – Declan Rice was not present.
The 27-year-old, who has captained the Gunners regularly this season, had to pull out of international duty with England through injury, but managed to return to play three full games against City, Sporting and Bournemouth.
Many had originally believed Arteta was withdrawing his players for self-interest, but the omission of Rice from this training session, along with comments from Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel backing the legitimacy of the departing players’ issues, suggests Rice really could be carrying something.
Nevertheless, this would not be the first time Arteta has dabbled in ‘the dark arts’, and it may merely be a trick to throw onlookers off the scent and keep upcoming opposition managers guessing.
In addition to Rice, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori all didn’t take part in the open session.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, the condition of Rice will become clearer after the Sporting game.
While the greatest focus will be on City at the weekend, Arteta cannot treat that Champions League tie with anything but full focus, as they only hold a one-goal advantage from the first leg, which could be easily overturned.
If Rice is fit, you’d expect him to be at least in the squad, and if he’s not, Arteta will be peppered with questions about his absence.
Regardless, the Gunners will be praying he’s in good condition to finish the season strongly, as he’s arguably been the club’s most important player throughout this campaign.
