Iconic former England defender Rio Ferdinand has now spoken out in defence of one Arsenal player at Euro 2024.
England have come under a storm of criticism in recent days.
The Three Lions have made a poor start to Euro 2024 in terms of their performance levels, if not results.
Gareth Southgate’s side scraped a 1-0 win in their first game against Serbia, despite looking largely toothless in attack. They were then even more uninspiring in a 1-1 draw against Denmark. The manager is now under pressure to coax a more exciting, attacking display out of his side when they take on Slovenia this evening.
Arsenal stars Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have started both games for their country so far. However, neither has been able to fully recapture the form they produced consistently for Mikel Arteta at club level last season.
Arsenal fans are adamant that Saka has shown glimpses of quality for England at this tournament. However, the British press were critical of Rice for his display against the Danes last time out.
Rice has hit back against those critics, calling on the media to get behind the team. Pundit Rio Ferdinand has now got behind the 25-year-old too.
Rio Ferdinand sides with Arsenal star Declan Rice amidst England criticism
The 81-cap former England international cannot understand where the criticism of Rice is coming from.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, the 45-year-old said: “He played every game until maybe the last eight, nine, 10 games of the season other than that, he was playing in the six, and everyone was raving about him.
“Everyone was saying we don’t hear about the £100 million price-tag, right. I didn’t hear no one digging him out about oh, we can’t receive the ball on the half-turn and he can’t play the ball through.
“He might not be a Busquets, he might not be maybe the way Rodri can play the ball through, but don’t tell me he can’t receive the ball off the back-four. If that was the case, we would have been saying that all season. No one said that.”
Why Rice is struggling for England
The reason Rice has struggled to produce his best for England is not down to him alone. The way the team play around him is not optimal for the former West Ham United man.
Southgate’s tactics hinder Rice. England have a tendency to play very deep, inviting pressure. This restricts the room Rice has to operate in, meaning that he doesn’t have the space he need to make his trademark forward runs on the ball, dragging his teammates up the pitch. It also means that he rarely has a progressive outlet pass to play, as England don’t keep enough players in advanced positions.