Mikel Arteta has revealed that Declan Rice has continued playing for Arsenal despite injury problems. The Gunners midfielder was one of nine players to withdraw from international duty, with England boss Thomas Tuchel revealing he was in "clear discomfort" when assessed upon his arrival at St George's Park.
Arteta has seemingly confirmed that is the case when informed that Rice has been described as playing at 70 per cent. The Spaniard also revealed comments in private made by the 27-year-old which suggests he is ready for the run-in.
He said: "Yeah, he's been phenomenal because that's been going on for a while and the fact that he's been able to perform and consistently commit to the team in that manner.
"He talks about how much he wants to play for us and how much he wants to win, and that's great to see.” During his Friday press conference, Arteta only gave definitive updates on Piero Hincapie, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze by confirming that all three would be unavailable to face Southampton in an FA Cup quarter-final.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Arteta did confirm that Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard would be in contention but remained coy on Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi.
He said of those that returned to London Colney early: "You will see. I continue the speculation so you can do it, and you can judge it afterwards. If what I said was right or do I have to maybe change and delete and write something else?"
Arsenal have three huge games in the next seven days following a controversial domestic pause. Rice will undoubtedly be eager to participate in all of them, but his minutes and those of other key players are likely to be managed until the end of the season.
Their return to action kicks off on the south coast this evening and ends at Emirates Stadium against Bournemouth next Saturday with a Champions League quarter-final first leg in Portugal against Sporting CP in between.
April could end with even more important matches as Arteta's side face Manchester City in a huge title race clash. Just one week later, there could be two semi-final knockout ties for the Gunners.
The first of those would be in the FA Cup against any of Liverpool, Manchester, Chelsea, Port Vale, West Ham or Leeds United, assuming they get beyond the Saints.
Arsenal have more clarity on their potential final four opposition with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid as the other quarter-final tie on their side of the bracket with the first leg scheduled for either April 28 or 29.
A busy but also historic May could be on the cards for Arsenal with a Premier League title triumph potentially joined by finals at Wembley and in Budapest.
