Henry Winter: Declan Rice’s Ballon d’Or disappointment could help him reach another level with Arsenal

Henry Winter believes Declan Rice, who finished fifteenth among Arsenal players in the Ballon d’Or rankings, deserves greater recognition and could use the disappointment of receiving fewer votes as motivation to reach another level. Winter, one of the award’s voters, said he placed Rice tenth and gave him one point.

Winter pointed to Rice’s individual performances and contribution to his team, as well as his conduct on the pitch. He noted that the midfielder has scored five goals from assists this season and said he continues to perform strongly for Arsenal, who are seeking to defend their title.

In the meeting with Liverpool at Anfield, Winter praised Rice’s movement and his contribution to Kai Havertz’s goal, as well as his defensive work when Liverpool pressed. He also considered him Arsenal’s most important player at present, with Bukayo Saka struggling to maintain his fitness, and suggested that Rice could succeed Martin Ødegaard as captain. He said the club are seeking to extend Rice’s contract.

Winter highlighted concerns that Rice could suffer from fatigue because of his many appearances, noting that he played most of the minutes in a number of matches and had nerve pain in his hamstring during the second half of last season, before getting three weeks’ rest after being left out of the squad for the most recent international break. He added that manager Thomas Tuchel may want to play him for England in their next two Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, while Rice will need to discuss managing his appearances with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Winter said Rice always wants to represent England, and that playing in both matches would take his total beyond 80 international appearances and bring him closer to entering the list of the national team’s most-capped players.