Declan Rice makes ‘honest’ admission on his fitness at Arsenal this season after scoring for England

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It’s safe to say that it’s been a busy week or so in the life of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, who has been the focus of controversy both for club and country.

Firstly, Rice will miss Arsenal’s upcoming North London derby because of the hotly-debated red card he was handed against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.

Micah Richards was baffled by Rice’s red card, an opinion shared by many.

But ultimately Arsenal need to accept the decision and move on, just as their midfielder seemingly has.

Of course, on the international front, Rice faced the Republic of Ireland for England on Saturday evening, the country he represented at youth level.

Rice received a hostile reception alongside Jack Grealish in Dublin, only for the duo to then score both of England’s goals in the 2-0 win. 

Declan Rice says something changed during his 90 minutes for England

After scoring and assisting against Ireland for England, Rice spoke to Sky Sports shortly after the game.

The Arsenal midfielder said he actually enjoyed the hostile atmosphere in Dublin, and then made an interesting admission over his own fitness.

READ MORE: German media react to Arsenal striker Kai Havertz’s performance as he scores again in 5-0 win vs Hungary

Rice said: “Obviously there’s been so much talk, from what I’ve heard from Greg this week and Andy about a lot of people in the media obviously talking about me and Jack [Grealish], and obviously Lee [Carsley].

“But to come here today and just to play and enjoy that environment, I really really enjoyed it and to score and get an assist for Jack as well, I was really really happy.

“To be honest with you, I’ve not been feeling 100% fit so far, I’ve kind of been doing my pre-season in the Premier League, but today I feel like I took a real step, I could feel it within myself, I was feeling back to myself.

“Feeling springy, feeling like I could run around the pitch, feeling more powerful, so on a personal note it was really good to get that game in today and play 90 because I feel like I took another step which is obviously going to help me at Arsenal.”

Arsenal must start Riccardo Calafiori in North London derby

Of course, Rice won’t be able to display those fitness levels in Arsenal’s upcoming visit to Tottenham Hotspur because of the aforementioned suspension.

Mikel Arteta has one or two options to replace his number eight, he may even turn to Jorginho given the circumstances.

However, the right call would be to replace Rice with Riccardo Calafiori in the derby, a change that only requires a small reshuffle.

Calafiori was outstanding for Italy against William Saliba on Friday, the kind of performance that Arteta will notice.

And if the Arsenal manager moves Jurrien Timber into midfield then Calafiori can start at left-back, offering the Gunners so much in possession.

That being said, Arsenal will need to check in on the fitness of the Italian, given Calafiori picked up an injury against France.