"Something not quite right" - Pundit believes Arsenal player who has 'had an indifferent month or two' is 'carrying an injury'

Former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino believes that Arsenal’s Declan Rice may be playing through an injury. The Gunners have endured a string of injury setbacks since the start of the year, but Rice has remained a consistent presence in Mikel Arteta’s side.

Arteta has seen several key players sidelined this season, starting with Martin Odegaard early in the campaign. As soon as Arsenal began to gain momentum, they lost Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli in quick succession - blows that have dented their Premier League title aspirations.

Rice, however, has been ever-present, starting 11 of Arsenal’s last 13 matches. His only breaks came against Girona in the Champions League group stage and the FA Cup clash against Manchester United, where he still played over 45 minutes as the game went into extra time.

However, the English midfielder has struggled to replicate his early-season form over the past two months. Cascarino believes Rice hasn’t been at his best, suggesting he might be carrying an injury but is being forced to play due to Arsenal’s already lengthy injury list.

“Declan’s had an indifferent month or two. He’s definitely carrying an injury, I look at Declan and think, there’s something not quite right. He’s definitely got a niggle that he hasn’t got over because he’s just not playing to a way we know he can,” he said (via TBR Football).

Declan Rice has been one of the fittest players in England throughout his career. Since making his debut for West Ham United in 2017, he has only been sidelined twice - once due to illness and the other this season with a broken toe, which caused him to miss just three games.

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Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must reflect on their performances following poor run

It has certainly been a month to forget for Arsenal. After going on a six-game unbeaten run in January, the Gunners have managed just one win in their last four games. With Liverpool surging ahead in the title race, the results have left them 13 points behind the league leaders.

Their latest setback, a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest, highlighted their attacking struggles once again. However, Arteta has not conceded the title race just yet. Instead, he emphasized the importance of reflecting on recent performances and quickly bouncing back, given the number of games still ahead.

“It’s a good time to reflect. We have a few days before the PSV game. This is what we have and we look forward to working with what we have. We are going to try to win our football games. It was the same two weeks ago, three months ago. The only thing we can do is win,” he said (via NBC Sports).

Following their Champions League clash against PSV, Arsenal will face a challenging run of fixtures, taking on Manchester United (March 9), PSV (second leg, March 12), and Chelsea (March 16) before the international break.