Declan Rice is seeking the antidote for a painful condition with no known cure - winning the Euros with to make up for the anguish of missing out on the title. Arsenal ’s £105 million linchpin admitted the Gunners’ near-miss with the Premier League crown was “really tough to swallow” last month. But as the old man of England’s midfield - at 25, he is by far the most experienced player in Gareth Southgate ’s engine room - Rice is also relishing the responsibility of ending the Three Lions’ 58-year wait for major tournament success.
Little more than 12 months ago, Rice was lifting West Ham ’s first trophy in 43 years. Now he is England’s indispensable heartbeat, with Southgate cheerfully trying to solve his conundrum in the middle of the pitch as “Declan and who?” Rice conceded that “life comes at you fast” as he absorbed the enormity of his career accelerating from jellied eel heartlands to the top table. But he admitted: “Straight after the end of the season, I said to to my mum and dad that the only thing that would get me over not winning the Premier League is winning the Euros.
“It was really tough to swallow that we missed out by only two points, but now there’s this beautiful opportunity in front of us to go and do something special. “To do that I think would be one of the pinnacles of football, to win something for your country. There’s a long way to go, seven big games in a tournament, but my full focus is on that.
“I’ve obvious.
