Declan Rice spent the early hours of Wednesday morning celebrating with Arsenal fans outside the Emirates. By the afternoon, he was on the golf course.
The day after the title was confirmed, Peter Crouch and Steve Sidwell decided to cold call the Arsenal midfielder while recording That Peter Crouch Podcast.
When Rice picked up, he said, “I’m going to play nine holes now,” he told them. “I’m sat at home thinking, mate, I’ve got to get out, I’ve got to go and play some golf with my mate.”
When Sidwell asked whether he had even been to bed, Rice replied, “I went to bed for a few hours, but that’s it. I can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real.”
Is Declan Rice the best midfielder in the world right now? If not, who is?
Rice has been the best player in the Premier League for much of the season, and he had been spotted at the Emirates in the early hours alongside Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber, celebrating with the handful of supporters who were also still there.
Hours later, he was heading out to the golf course with his mate. Perhaps he even took his medal with him in his pocket. Not a bad Wednesday.
Declan Rice opens up on the pressure of Arsenal’s title run-in
During the call, Declan Rice also reflected on the weight of pressure that has followed this Arsenal team after several painful near-misses in recent seasons.
Rice was honest about the doubts that crept in during the run-in following three consecutive runners-up finishes, but was determined to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“When you’re in season and that, all you think about is all the small narrow losses we’ve had the last few years,” he said.
“You just think it cannot happen again. Like after leading for such a long way, the thought’s in the back of your mind.
And then obviously with how good [Manchester] City have been, how good they are, we think, ‘bloody hell’.”
The turning point, Rice revealed, came after the defeat at the Etihad.
“We knew, once we lost at Man City away, we knew straight away. We took so much from that day.
“We were like, ‘yeah, we’re still gonna do it. We still believe.’ We’re just buzzing.”
Rice had famously mouthed ‘it’s not done’ to his Arsenal teammates immediately after the defeat at the Etihad, and on Tuesday night he was proved exactly right, saying as much on Instagram.
After years of coming so close, Rice and Arsenal have finally done it. He deserves every one of those nine holes.
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