Declan Rice has been speaking about the impression his Arsenal teammate Myles Lewis-Skelly made during his first England camp.
Lewis-Skelly has enjoyed an incredible fortnight scoring on his England debut as his rise to prominence at the top level of football continues.
The 18-year-old is already a key player for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and now he looks like he could have a big future for Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions.
Now speaking after winning his first cap for the England national team, Rice has been assessing how Lewis-Skelly got on with his time away with the Three Lions.
Declan Rice on what England players said about Myles Lewis-Skelly
Declan Rice has revealed that England’s players were all telling him how impressed they were by Myles Lewis-Skelly and what a great character he is.
Outsiders unfairly questioned the Arsenal youngster’s personality, but speaking to the people who have actually had the pleasure of meeting him and you’ll be told a very different story.
The Arsenal midfielder has explained how Lewis-Skelly’s personality shone through away on England camp and how much his international teammates loved him.
Rice told Sky Sports: “I was so impressed. At the start of the week, he was with me quite a lot, he was quiet. And then by the end of the week, I hardly saw him! He was with everyone else, mixing around. I had loads of the lads coming up to me saying how much they love him, what a guy he is!
“I think that’s the beauty of international football. You play against players and you don’t know what people are actually like. In Myles’ case, obviously he’s broken through this year, no one really knows what he’s like as a guy. But then they see him as a person and they’re like ‘wow, he’s a top player but also he’s a top guy as well’.”
Declan Rice on Myles Lewis-Skelly’s celebration vs Man City
Rice believes that a lot of the reaction to Lewis-Skelly’s celebration against Man City was ‘over the top’ and that the teenager has a lot of respect for Erling Haaland.
“I think people went a bit over the top with it in terms of what they were saying about it [the celebration]. I know Erling took it on the chin. It’s football at the end of the day!
“I know he has a lot of respect for Haaland. It wasn’t a mean gesture, it was just in the moment. Let’s focus more on the goal he scored, which was unreal. And it was with his right foot, which was a shock,” added Rice.
