DECLAN RICE SAYS LIVERPOOL STAR IS 'ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS I'VE EVER SEEN'

Declan Rice has hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold as ‘one of the best players I’ve ever seen’ and insists he is more than capable of playing in England’s midfield at Euro 2024.

Natural right-back Alexander-Arnold has moved into England’s midfield at the Euros to partner Rice but the experiment has had mixed success.

England’s midfield was accused of lacking control and rhythm as the Three Lions drew 1-1 with Denmark on Thursday after labouring to a 1-0 win over Serbia in their tournament opener.

Several pundits have highlighted Alexander-Arnold as one of the main reasons England are flattering to deceive in Germany, with ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane claiming he has been ‘found out’ and should be dropped.

But Rice believes Alexander-Arnold still has a role to play in England’s midfield and has pointed out the hypocrisy from pundits and fans who have ‘backtracked’ on their views of the Liverpool star.

‘It’s funny because people were calling for Trent to play in midfield,’ Rice told ITV ahead of England’s final 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 Premier League runners-up Arsenal, also hit out at pundits who aimed stinging criticism at the Three Lions following the Denmark draw.

Ex-England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker described the performance as ‘s***’, while Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards were also highly 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.’

Despite underwhelming in Germany, England will progress to the knockout stages of the Euros as Group C winners if they beat Slovenia, who clinched two 1-1 draws against Denmark and Serbia.

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.’

While Southgate’s side are in the driving seat to top Group C, Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia all have a chance to join them in the knockout stages ahead of the final group games on Tuesday evening.

Discussing under pressure Three Lions boss Southgate, ex-England striker Alan Shearer told Betfair: ‘He has got the experience now at this level, there’s no doubt about it.

‘He played at this level, which I know is different to managing, but he has gone through different teams and players.

‘A lot of people said he needed to freshen up the squad. He needed to leave out some of his regulars who perhaps either weren’t playing well or weren’t even playing.

‘He did all of that. There were people saying he needed to be positive and not have two sitting midfielders. He’s done that and won his first game.

‘He’s very, very experienced at this level. He knows what to expect and knows how to handle the pressure that he is under to win games and win this tournament.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Never miss a beat throughout the season or transfer window with weekly Arsenal news updates, exclusives and analysis. Sign up to Metro.co.uk’s Club Metro newsletter

2024-06-24T10:48:50Z dg43tfdfdgfd