Micah Richards has shared his disagreement with Ian Wright over Declan Rice’s recent England performance with the pundit pinning blame on Gareth Southgate.
The Arsenal midfielder played the entire 120 minutes for the Three Lions against Slovakia last night as England scored a stoppage-time equaliser before Harry Lane won the match for Southgate in extra-time in what was a dramatic fixture.
With Arsenal legend Wright hailing Rice as ‘unbelievable’ for his complete midfield performance, the 25-year-old was instrumental for England in their knockout win against Slovakia, with Bukayo Saka also praised for his efforts during the game.
Yet Richards has disagreed with Wright over Rice’s performance, mainly due to what Southgate has done.
Rice unable to play his best football without a consistent midfield partner
Speaking on the Rest is Football, Richards highlighted that he wasn’t too impressed with how Rice played against Slovakia, though this factor mainly came down to the Arsenal man playing alongside his third midfield partner of the Euros.
Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo was brought in after Conor Gallagher disappointed last week against Slovenia, with Trent Alexander-Arnold also failing to find a connection with Rice, as Richards highlighted this as the main problem for the England midfielder.
READ MORE: Everything to know on Arsenal’s Declan Rice from his girlfriend to height
The former defender said: “I feel a little bit sorry for Declan Rice, he’s played a few games with Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, so you’re looking for relationships on the field, he’s played with Trent, Gallagher and Mainoo, so it’s hard for him.
“He needs that continuity to know what they wanna do and how he wants to play. Although he didn’t have his best game, it’s going to be difficult because he’s always having a different partner there.”
England have to find a new long-term midfield partner for Rice
Mikel Arteta arguably hit the lottery this summer in signing Rice with the midfielder hitting it off immediately with Martin Odegaard, with the pair forming an incredible connection for Arsenal this season.
Yet for England, they must now find a new partner for Rice once Euro 2024 is over, with Southgate expected to leave his position regardless of if the Three Lions go all the way this summer.
Indeed, England have the options to get the best out of Rice in midfield, and with Southgate struggling to find an answer this summer, it could take another coach with a new mindset to find the solution to this problem, one that Arteta solved seemingly immediately.
Arteta has Arsenal stars in Marbella whilst Bukayo Saka struggles at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed England’s recent poor performances at the European Championships. With Arsenal players Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka receiving mixed reviews for England so far, Gareth Southgate’s tactical decisions were questioned.
There was some talk about the members of the Arsenal squad currently on a surprise training camp with Mikel Arteta in Marbella, as well as a brief look at how Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli are getting on at the Copa America with Brazil.