Emmanuel Petit shocked by ‘unrecognisable’ Arsenal star’s struggles at Euro 2024

Emmanuel Petit claims Arsenal star Declan Rice looked “unrecognisable” playing for England during the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign.

The former West Ham captain has enjoyed a stunning debut season for the Gunners following his record £100million transfer.

Rice has been a mainstay of England’s squads that have performed admirably at recent major tournaments under Gareth Southgate, but he has been among a number of high-profile players who have struggled to reproduce their club form over the past three weeks.

The 25-year-old started the tournament alongside makeshift partner Trent Alexander-Arnold before Gareth Southgate abandoned that experiment and promoted Conor Gallagher.

Kobbie Mainoo has since replaced the Chelsea stalwart and England have looked marginally better thanks to the teenager’s presence, but Petit still fears balance in midfield is a major concern.

“I don’t recognise Declan Rice playing for England because he doesn’t play the same position as he does at Arsenal,” he told Gambling.com.

“I really like it when Declan Rice plays box-to-box because he can support the attackers and be close to the penalty area, shooting from outside the box.

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“The fact that he plays as a defensive midfielder makes no sense to me, he can’t play there.

“You only get about 60% of his quality doing that. I think the lack of confidence doesn’t help him.

“Declan Rice doesn’t play in the same environment as at club level. Arteta and Arsenal have a very clear DNA on the pitch and that’s not the case with the national team.

“You can see they are struggling as a team so I’m not surprised Rice hasn’t been able to perform to his best so far for England in that position.

“I watched the last game and the midfield was struggling. There are a lot of players in the team who are very far from their usual level and many of them seem exhausted.

“You can change everything you want, tactically, in the spine, everything, but a lot of players seem exhausted mentally and physically. That’s what worries me most for England.”

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