Gary Lineker issued his honest thoughts on Declan Rice’s display after England beat Serbia 1-0 in their opening match at Euro 2024.
The Three Lions narrowly defeated Serbia in Gelsenkirchen to move to the summit of Group C following Slovenia’s 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Jude Bellingham was the matchwinner, heading home a deflected Bukayo Saka cross inside the opening 15 minutes.
The Real Madrid man partnered in midfield with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rice, who both enjoyed positive showings.
Richards and Lineker delivered their thoughts on Rice’s performance.
Gary Lineker praises Declan Rice in more defensive role
Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker praised Rice’s display and noticed that he operated as more of a holding midfielder, giving him a different responsibility to his at Arsenal.
Richards: “We didn’t touch on him on the BBC but I thought Declan Rice played really well. Not outstanding like Bellingham did but he was very measured in the way he performed.”
Lineker: “He was more disciplined because the last few weeks of the season he was playing as an eight for Arsenal and he does it well, he protects that back four really well.”
Mikel Arteta may start to use Declan Rice as a holding midfielder
It emerged on Wednesday morning that Mikel Arteta was set to hold talks with Rice over clarifying what position he’s best suited in.
That way, the transfer business would be formed around his answer, with a number eight set to be targeted if he decided he’s best as a number six.
The Spaniard would’ve been watching last night and perhaps may start to deploy Rice in a deeper role, thus prompting the club to invest in a box-to-box midfielder.