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Declan Rice Injury Update Provided by Mikel Arteta After Aston Villa Thumping

Rice broke his silence on the knee injury which sidelined him against Villa.

Grey Whitebloom

Declan Rice sat out Arsenal’s hard-fought victory over Aston Villa.
Declan Rice sat out Arsenal’s hard-fought victory over Aston Villa. / David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed that Declan Rice is “improving” after being forced out of Tuesday’s 4–1 thumping of Aston Villa with a knee injury, although he was less optimistic about the midfielder’s chances of facing Bournemouth this weekend.

The central lynchpin for the Premier League leaders was forced to sit out the visit of Unai Emery’s high-flying Villans after sustaining a blow to his knee against Brighton & Hove Albion three days earlier.

“Declan got a big kick in his knee during the match [against Brighton], at the start of the match actually, and by the time he finished the match he had a massive swell up,” Arteta revealed ahead of the midweek contest. “The game [against Villa] was too early for him to be able to consider.”

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Rice’s absence threatened to be very costly. Villa started strongly at the Emirates, repeatedly spearing through the heart of an Arsenal midfield notably missing the talismanic England international. Ollie Watkins shanked a glorious first-half opportunity wide during a dominant spell from the visitors which was not rewarded with a goal.

The Gunners regrouped midway through the first half and took the lead against the run of play three minutes after the interval via that most familiar avenue of success: a corner. Intriguingly, the set piece was won by Jurriën Timber who, after being tasked with a more reserved inverted role for the first half, had been freed to bomb forward on the overlap while the more naturally reserved Piero Hincapié tucked infield to help cover in Rice’s absence.

Villa collapsed thereafter. In a reversal of roles, Martín Zubimendi pierced through the middle of Villa’s rearguard to swiftly make it 2–0 before Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus sealed a statement victory with two goals separated by less than 10 minutes.

Aside from a late Watkins consolation, the one glaring point of concern for Arteta was Rice’s future availability.

Arteta Sets Conditions for Rice Return

Declan Rice walking down a corridor in the Emirates.
Declan Rice was given a watching brief in midweek. / Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Arsenal’s manager was bluntly asked if Rice would be fit enough to feature in Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth. “It depends,” Arteta vaguely answered. “The swelling has to come right down for him to have the chance to function. He wasn’t able to do that today, he’s improving. But let’s see what happens in the next couple of days.”

Rice watched the action unfold on a bitterly cold Tuesday night from underneath a beanie hat on the bench. It is an unusual position for a player who had started 35 of Arsenal’s previous 37 Premier League fixtures. After an uncomfortable opening 45 minutes, Rice openly revelled in his teammates’ success. His face captured the blend of shock and awe which washed over the Emirates Stadium when Jesus produced an uncharacteristically crisp finish.

Shortly after the full-time whistle, Rice took to social media to laud his colleagues, writing: “This team!!!! We keep going” followed by three heart emojis.

Whether Rice will be able to get going against Bournemouth still remains to be seen.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.

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