No fitness concerns over Declan Rice, says Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
The new signing could make his debut against the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Mikel Arteta allayed concerns over star signing Declan Rice’s fitness ahead of a potential first Arsenal appearance against the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old midfielder completed his British record £105million move from West Ham to the Emirates Stadium at the weekend.
Rice travelled with his new team-mates to the United States but was unable to train in Washington DC on Monday, working on an exercise bike by the pitch.
“We just wanted to manage him,” Arsenal boss Arteta said of the England international.
“Obviously a lot has happened to him in the last five or six days.
“He had a very hectic schedule and he had a few training sessions that went really good, but prior to that, he didn’t do much before he joined us.
“So we wanted to just manage him. He trained today with us. He was in good form and he’s fine.”
Wednesday’s match kicks off Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the USA and Arteta is looking forward to facing the Wayne Rooney-coached All-Stars at Audi Field.
“It’s going to be a special, unpredictable game obviously because we are going to play and change a lot of players as well,” the Spaniard said.
“It’s great to be invited and be part of this and hopefully we can give something back to the fans to cheer.”