Emmanuel Petit: I Don't Recognise Declan Rice When He Plays For England
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit says he does not recognise Declan Rice when he plays for England.
The Gunners midfielder enjoyed an excellent debut season at the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta’s men narrowly missed out on the Premier League title.
But like many of his international team-mates, Rice has struggled to hit those heights so far at Euro 2024, but England remain the favourites with football betting sites.
In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, Petit admits that the Arsenal man has not been at his best this summer.
“I don’t recognise Declan Rice playing for England as he isn’t playing the same position as he does for Arsenal,” Petit said.
“I really like when he plays as a box-to-box player as he can support the strikers and be close to the penalty area, shooting from outside the box.
“The fact he is playing as a holding midfielder doesn’t make sense to me. He can’t play there. You are only getting around 60 per cent of his quality by doing so. I think the lack of confidence is not helping him.
“There are a lot of players in the team that are so far away from their usual level and a lot of players look exhausted.
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“Rice is not playing in the same environment he has at his club. Arteta and Arsenal have a very clear DNA on the pitch and this isn’t the case with the national team.
"You can see they are struggling as a team so I am not surprised Rice hasn’t been able to give his best so far for England in that position.”
England only just scraped through to the quarter-finals of the Euros thanks to a 2-1 defeat of Slovakia after extra time.
Gareth Southgate is under huge pressure to deliver and Petit thinks England, who face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday, should make a managerial change after the tournament regardless of what happens from here.
“I think he has done very good things with the national team in recent years, but I think he has been there for too long now,” the Frenchman said.
“I think the players need a new face as manager, a different personality and character and a different philosophy.
“I have respect for what he (Southgate) has achieved, but I think his time is up with the national team. I can understand the criticism. It’s been the same in France with Didier Deschamps, but it is different of course as Deschamps has won many trophies.”
France, who are third favourites on betting apps, are also through to the quarter-finals, where they will face Portugal for a place in the semi-finals.
Arsenal centre-back William Saliba has been one of their standout performers in Germany and Petit has been impressed by his compatriot.
“No one could have imagined him (Saliba) being that at the start of the competition,” the former midfielder said.
“He was so far away from being in the first team a couple of months ago and I remember Deschamps’ comments about him in the press.
"He was worried about some aspects of his game and that he should improve. He has been one of the best defenders in the Premier League for the past two seasons, and maybe even the world.
“Saliba had no partnership with (Dayot) Upamecano before the tournament, so it was a big gamble by the manager to play them together, but I think they are getting better and better.
"I am not surprised by how Saliba is playing and I think it would be very difficult for (Ibrahima) Konate to come back into the first team.”
Another centre-back who caught the eye in the group stage was Riccardo Calafiori, who missed Italy’s 2-0 loss to Switzerland in the last 16 through suspension.
The UK betting sites have Arsenal down as the favourites to sign Calafiori from Bologna, a move which Petit would back.
“I think one of the main reasons Italy lost in the last 16 is because Calafiori didn’t play due to suspension. I really like this player," Petit said.
“He is very good with the ball, is very intelligent without the ball and he can play different positions.
"Calafiori has got the fighting spirit and is a great character with personality on the pitch so I think he could be an interesting target for Arsenal.
“He’s got the leadership and confidence for sure. I watched him closely in the tournament and you could see he was so focused on what he had to do.
“Another interesting one for Arsenal could be the Turkish left wing-back Ferdi Kadioglu, who I’ve heard the club are interested in.
"He is good with the ball, has a great mentality and is always fighting until the end. He brings a lot of energy on the pitch."
Arsenal are also expected to bring in a new centre-forward this summer, with Victor Osimhen, Viktor Gyokeres and Ivan Toney among the names being linked.
“I really like Toney,” Petit continued. “He gave an assist to Harry Kane for his goal (against Slovakia) and I think he could be a great signing for Arsenal as they definitely need a striker.
“Osimhen has been linked with the club for weeks now and that could be good, but I personally really like Toney.”
Nico Williams, the Spain winger, has also been spoken of as a potential target for Arsenal.
Chelsea, another of Petit’s former clubs, are also said to be in the mix, but the Frenchman believes Williams would be a better fit for the Gunners.
“I think he (Williams) is sensational,” he said. “He is electric on the pitch and a great dribbler with high speed.
"I think he would fit perfectly in the Premier League and at Arsenal in particular.”
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