Captain Rice
England’s latest skipper reaches half-century of caps thinking of players he learned from
DECLAN RICE would have had plenty of players – past and present – running through his thoughts when he led England out as captain for the first time this morning. As well as reaching a half-century of caps, Rice would have worn the armband at Wembley in what is England’s final friendly before manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for Euro 2024.
While he has never captained his country before today, Rice was West Ham skipper as they won the Europa Conference League last season – his final game before a club-record £105 million (RM630m) move to Arsenal followed.
He has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League this season as the Gunners push
“I’ve just got to think about everyone along the way who helped me,” he said. “I’ve had one of the best captains in Mark Noble.
He’s already text me and I think he’ll be coming to the game tomorrow night.
“People like that, I’ve learned so much from both as a player and person, captain and leader.
“Then when I come to England, seeing players like Harry Kane and
Jordan Henderson and how they are around the group. You pick up little things from everyone. And when I got to captain West
Ham, I was growing in confidence and as a leader.
“I still see myself going that way. There is
Martin Odegaard at my club. I’m not thinking about it, but if anything were to ever happen to him, I really would love to put the armband on for Arsenal. I love leading and being captain. It’s a real honour.”
Asked about the links to Moore, Rice added: “Having 10 years at West Ham has shaped me into the person I am today, no doubt. “It’s a real honour you know. There’s
only been a certain amount of people that have captained England. It’s a one-off game, but to be able to put the armband on is really special.”
While Rice will no doubt have his full attention on captaining England, Arsenal travel to Manchester City on Sunday in a game which could go a long way to deciding the destination of the Premier League title.
Rice may be fully aware of the gravity of the Easter Day clash – but it does not seem to have resonated with England team-mate and City defender John Stones.
“The first day I came I saw John Stones and he didn’t even know they were playing us next,” he revealed.
“When he’s away from football he likes to be with his family and switch off and I get that, he likes to take one game at a time.
“I said ‘big game next’ and John said ‘who are you playing’? I said ‘we’ve got you lot’! He said ‘oh yeah.’ That tells you how much we speak about it when we’re here.
“With Walks (Kyle Walker) he always has a little bit of banter, he’s a great lad. As lads, we have a bit if banter but inside us we know what a big game it’s going to be, a potential title-decider, it’s going to be really tight.” – The
Independent