Mikel Arteta has allayed fears over Declan Rice’s fitness and revealed the midfielder is pushing to make his return for Arsenal’s pre-season.
Rice endured a somewhat frustrating World Cup campaign with England after limping out of the side’s group-stage clash with Ghana with heavy strapping on his left calf.
It later emerged that Rice was suffering with a neural issue affecting his hamstring and lower back, which left him bed-bound for three days prior to England’s quarter-final win over Norway.
After being substituted at the halfway stage against Erling Haaland and Co, Rice returned to play 82 minutes of the Three Lions’ semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more direct to your inbox every morning.
It was in England’s bronze-medal victory that Rice appeared to be playing at somewhere near his best again, opening the scoring with a third-minute stunner before seeing out the entirety of the ten-goal thriller.
There have been some suggestions Rice may require a prolonged break to remove the risk of aggravating any underlying issues.
But speaking to the media on Wednesday, ahead of Arsenal’s upcoming friendly with Girona, Arteta lifted the lid on the positive conversations he had been having with the former West Ham star.
‘We have three different pre-seasons with different groups, but the most important thing is the attitude,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters.
‘When I speak to Declan Rice, he is already saying, “Ok, if I come this day, then I can play then.”
‘That is much more powerful than the programme. We want to adapt to the context, which is different.’
Asked to describe the mood in the camp in Italy, Arteta added: ‘First of all, I saw the energy in the bodies, in their eyes, how they look.
‘And then the players, it was incredible – the shape that they have all come back, better than ever. That tells you the direction that we want to seek and the culture that we have set.
‘Then the way they are training, the questions that they ask you, the direction that they want to take. They are all super powerful signs.
‘It’s great to see everybody again with the same spirit after such a big season. To see everybody coming back in the building with such energy and desire to go again is really touching.’
Arteta was keen to reassure fans that he and his squad had a renewed sense of determination and motivation on the back of club’s Premier League triumph last season.
‘100 per cent. This has to be the start and this has to be the standard. Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive to attack the future.
‘The way we behave daily with more and more determination and ambition because we’ve shown that we’ve got it. Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension.”
The Spaniard added: ‘My ambition is that daily we nail the standards and the requirements on the day to be better the following day. That is the thing that we have to control.
‘And maintaining that ambition, that discipline, that commitment and that positive energy through 11 months.
‘That is the responsibility that we all have. If we all achieve that, we are going to be in a really strong position in May.’
After locking horns with Girona on Saturday, the Gunners continue their busy pre-season schedule with a friendly against Real Betis at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Arteta’s men then return home to the Emirates for a double-header against Borussia Dortmund and Como, the club’s final two matches in preparation before their Community Shield showdown with Manchester City on August 16.
The north London giants begin their Premier League defence five days later at home to newly promoted Coventry City.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.