Declan Rice Dismisses Workload Concerns: 'I've Shown I Can Do It'

Declan Rice is not interested in easing off the accelerator. Not after 69 games last season. Not after a World Cup played through neural back and hamstring pain. Not even with Arsenal quietly fretting in the background.

The midfielder insists his body can handle another campaign north of 60 appearances, brushing aside concerns that his relentless schedule might finally catch up with him.

“For the last six seasons, even since my West Ham days when they were in Europe, I’ve played 60-plus every season,” Rice said. “So I think it is sustainable because I’ve shown that I can do it.”

Arsenal are less relaxed. They know exactly what he pushed himself through in the summer. During the World Cup, Rice revealed he had been managing neural pain in his back and hamstring, an issue that followed a hamstring injury in December and required a pain‑killing injection. He had just three weeks off after that marathon year before returning to pre-season, rejoining training a week before the Community Shield.

That is why his workload is being tracked so closely. Data, minutes, recovery – all under the microscope. The club want to protect a player they see as central to everything.

Yet on the pitch, there has been little sign of caution. Rice came off the bench to replace Bruno Guimarães in the Community Shield win over Manchester City in Cardiff and has started every Arsenal match since. Guimarães, signed for £75m from Newcastle, was supposed to share the burden, one of the key reasons Arsenal moved so aggressively to bring in the Brazil international.

The plan was clear: spread the strain, keep Rice fresher, avoid another season of running him into the ground.

Reality has been different. In Wednesday’s Champions League victory away to Napoli, Rice stayed on for the full 90 minutes. Mikel Merino made way for Guimarães instead. When the game tightened, when control mattered, Rice remained the constant.

For him, the equation is simple: keep playing, keep performing.

“It’s just about maintaining it, maintaining the level and the consistency of the performances,” he said. “For me, that’s the main thing, showing up every week, giving a good account of myself and helping the team win. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do that. So I’m really hungry to be able to do that again this season.”

Arsenal even offered him more time off after the World Cup. He turned it down. He wanted to be there from the start, back in the dressing room, back in the rhythm. That competitive streak will now carry into the international break.

Rice is expected to be named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia and Croatia when it is announced next Friday. Four matches, three high-intensity opponents, and a club watching nervously from north London. Arsenal are likely to push for both Rice and Bukayo Saka to be managed carefully, hoping the pair are given a chance to breathe.

Rice admits the World Cup took a toll. The schedule, the heat, the expectation – it all piled up.

“I feel really good at the minute, in really good form, so we’ll make it continue,” he said. “I think everyone knew I had an issue with a neural hamstring. But also on the top of the Premier League season, which was so demanding, the Champions League, to then play a World Cup in that heat really does take its toll.”

He never wanted that to be an excuse, especially not in an England shirt.

“I’m a player that goes on the pitch, wants to be fresh and give 100% every time I put on an England shirt,” he said. “Yes, there were stages where I felt really, really good and stages where I didn’t feel so good. There were a few things that frustrated me, just with myself, just not feeling 100%. It’s one of those things I just had to manage.”

That word – manage – hangs over his season. Arsenal want to manage his minutes. England will have to manage his importance. Rice will try to manage his own instincts, the urge to play every game, to drive every performance.

He believes his body can go again. The question now is whether club and country dare to find out just how far they can push him.