Arsenal star's England withdrawal explained after Wembley sighting

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Declan Rice was at Wembley on Saturday night to watch England's 3-2 Nations League defeat to Spain, just days after pulling out of Thomas Tuchel's squad for the extended international break.

The Arsenal midfielder was spotted walking through the mixed zone a little over an hour after the final whistle, and he was not wearing any England gear. Rice had withdrawn from the Three Lions camp earlier in the week, but still turned up to support his international teammates against the reigning world and European champions.

The reason behind the withdrawal

According to football.london, the decision for Rice to step away from the squad was driven by load management concerns around the midfielder's fitness, with the 27-year-old having been dealing with a hamstring issue since the World Cup.

Rice has been a near-permanent fixture in Arsenal's engine room since arriving from West Ham in the summer of 2023, and the workload numbers back that up. He featured 69 times for club and country across the 2025/26 campaign alone.

England captain Harry Kane addressed his absence when speaking to reporters during the week, revealing he had spoken to the Arsenal man directly.

"I spoke to Dec, and I know Dec goes far and beyond for the club and country, so I know how much he gives and I know he's been struggling for a while with his issues," Kane said.

"So someone like Dec has to get himself sorted and get himself fresh, and he has big games for club, big games for country, coming up."

Rice on his own workload

The midfielder himself has previously been bullish about the volume of football he plays, insisting earlier this month that the demands are manageable because he has consistently met them.

"I think for the last six seasons, even since my West Ham days when it was 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."

He added: "It's just about maintaining it, maintaining the level and the consistency of the performances. 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."

Those comments sit alongside the reality of a body that has been managing a recurring hamstring complaint for months. Stepping out of an international window is one of the few levers available to a player of Rice's standing, and it is a lever both club and country appear comfortable pulling in this instance.

For Tuchel, there is at least the reassurance that a senior squad member remained engaged with the group despite not being involved. For Arsenal, the priority is a fully fit Rice returning to the fold when the domestic schedule resumes.

Attention now turns to how Mikel Arteta manages the midfielder's minutes over the coming weeks, with a congested run of fixtures on the horizon for the Gunners.