Declan Rice has revealed that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sent him a good luck message ahead of England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain.
On the back of an outstanding debut season with the Gunners, Rice has started all six of England’s matches this summer and is expected to continue his run in the side in Berlin this weekend.
The 25-year-old has established himself as one of Gareth Southgate’s most trusted squad members in recent years and was named in England’s new-look leadership group with captain Harry Kane and Kyle Walker ahead of the tournament.
He is also one of only four players to play every single minute of the Three Lions’ campaign thus far, along with Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Walker.
Three years ago, Rice was on the losing side in the European Championship final – and came off in the 74th minute – as England were beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley and the midfielder will be desperate to make amends in Sunday’s showpiece.
Facing the media ahead of the match, the former West Ham captain lifted the lid on the his chats with Arteta in the aftermath of England’s dramatic win over the Netherlands.
‘I spoke to Mikel, he’s been great,’ Rice told reporters.
‘We had a phone call the other day, we were speaking for about ten minutes.
‘That was good, it was nice to speak to him because I hadn’t spoken to him since the end of the season so that was really nice.
‘And then he texted me the other night saying, “Vamos!”, when we got to the final.
Rice believes Arteta will be ‘split’ heading into the final given Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale are also in England’s squad,
‘I’m sure he’s going to be split because he’s Spanish but also he’s got boys in the squad who are obviously English as well,’ he added.
‘So it’s a tough one for him but he did wish me all the best so I was happy with that.’
Rice vowed to ‘run through brick walls’ to help ensure England bring their 58-year wait for a major trophy to an end in what is the nation’s first ever final on foreign soil.
‘In the first couple of games I was feeling more tired than I am now,’ Rice continued.
‘The adrenaline kicks in more as the games ramp up. You get that extra bit of energy, extra bit of fire.
‘On Sunday, all of us will run through brick walls, do anything to win this game.
‘Whether that’s in 90 minutes, 120, we’ll give it absolutely everything. That’s all we can ask of each other.’
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