Declan Rice has praised Trent Alexander-Arnold as “one of the best players I’ve ever seen” and maintains he is more than capable of playing in England’s midfield at Euro 2024.
Alexander-Arnold, typically a right-back, has been moved to midfield to partner Rice, but the results have been mixed.
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In their recent matches, England’s midfield was criticized for lacking control and rhythm, drawing 1-1 with Denmark and narrowly winning 1-0 against Serbia.
Some pundits have singled out Alexander-Arnold as a key factor in England’s underwhelming performances, with former Manchester United captain Roy Keane suggesting he has been “found out” and should be dropped.
However, Rice argues that Alexander-Arnold still has a valuable role in the midfield and has criticized pundits and fans for their inconsistent views on the Liverpool star.
‘It’s funny because people were calling for Trent to play in midfield,’ Rice told ITV ahead of England’s last group game against Slovenia. ‘Half the country are calling for Trent to play in midfield and then he plays in midfield and you want to bring him down.
‘I don’t get it, I don’t get it at all. I’ll defend all of my boys until the day I don’t put on an England shirt. Trent is one of the best players I’ve ever seen.
‘Don’t call for someone to play in a position and then backtrack because you think he’s had a bad day or something.
‘I’ll tell you now – Trent can play in midfield. I’ve seen it for England and for Liverpool. He’s unbelievable.’
Rice, who enjoyed an impressive first season at Arsenal, also hit out at pundits who aimed criticism at the Three Lions after the Denmark draw.
Ex-England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker described the display as ‘s***’, while Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards were also critical of the display.
‘I’m not disappointed [by the criticism] because I’ve played football long enough now, I know how they work,’ Rice said. ‘That’s why I really do not get bothered about it at all.
‘Look, they’re entitled to their opinion. They’re on TV, they’re saying whatever they want. I know some of them personally. They’re great guys.
‘But, like I said, they’ve been in our shoes as well and sometimes just to have that thought of process, you know, just before they speak.
‘They’ve been where I’m sat, where our other players have sat and not done well at tournaments. So look, I don’t why we feel like such a negative thing. We’re talking like we’re going out of the tournament here.’
Rice added: ‘We’re top of the group, we need to stay positive, stay upbeat. Let’s have some positivity going into games.
‘Let’s give players the best confidence in the world. Players like Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, tell them they’re the best players in the world.
‘Rather than reading the negative comments sitting on their mind and then thinking that they can’t play a certain way. That’s the way I think about it. And I’m sure we have enough of them people as well which is good.’
