Report: What those close to Arsenal's Declan Rice are saying about him after Harry Kane's England criticism

Today at 10:45 AM

Harry Kane has indirectly criticised some of his England teammates – including Arsenal stars Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Aaron Ramsdale, Levi Colwill and Jarrad Branthwaite have dropped out of Lee Carsley’s final England squad along with the Arsenal duo, ahead of a busy schedule at club level over the festive period.

When asked for his thoughts on nine players dropping out of the final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over, Kane said: “Yeah, it’s a shame this week obviously. I think it’s a tough period of the season, maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit. I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest. I think England comes before anything, any club situation.”

Now, those close to Declan Rice have spoken to the Daily Mail to try and explain why the Arsenal No.41 dropped out of the upcoming UEFA Nations League clashes against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

Sources close to Declan Rice insist he is genuinely injured

It is stressed that the £105m man genuinely has a broken foot, which has prevented him from representing England this month, despite his involvement in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea last Sunday.

The Daily Mail write that Rice required painkillers to play in that London derby, and potentially wouldn’t have featured at all were it not a significant clash against Chelsea, who sit above Arsenal in the Premier League.

It is also said that the medical team at England already knew this information, and therefore told the 25-year-old not to travel to St George's Park for international duty.

Those close to Rice – who Sam Allardyce thinks could burn out – stress that he loves playing for England and is incredibly proud of representing his country, with his dedication to recovery between matches striking.

Therefore, while Kane did not exactly mention the Arsenal maestro by name, it was unfair of the Bayern Munich No.9 to make a sweeping statement which ignored the facts.

Harry Kane situation differs to England teammates

Kane is entitled to say whatever he wants as England captain, although he would be wise to remember how gruelling the festive period can be in English football.

In regards to Arsenal – for example – the Gunners play four games between December 20th and January 11th, a time period where Kane has no fixtures at all due to the winter break in Germany.

That goes without mentioning the other eight fixtures Arsenal and Rice must contend with between now and December 20th across all competitions.

Therefore, Kane should respect the fact that these upcoming UEFA Nations League games do not hold as much significance to his England colleagues in the Premier League as they clearly do for him.