Declan Rice was all smiles as he made his return to Arsenal training for the first time since the Euro 2024 final.
The 25-year-old midfielder joined his England teammates Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale at London Colney, while French defender William Saliba also joined the session for the first time since the summer’s football festivities.
The quartet enjoyed an extended break after a hectic Euro 2024 tournament, which began four weeks after the Premier League season concluded.
Saliba took a well-deserved vacation in Sardinia with his girlfriend, Sandra Shehab, after a full season with Arsenal, where they narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City. Meanwhile, Rice was seen celebrating in Ibiza with Ivan Toney and Luke Shaw shortly after England’s final defeat.
Rice and Saka featured in every game for England, while Saliba played the full 90 minutes in all of France’s matches. Goalkeeper Ramsdale, who didn’t see action during the Euros, trained alongside Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson.
Despite only Rice and Saka playing in England’s 2-1 loss to Spain in the final, all four players were granted time off.
France’s campaign ended in disappointment with a semi-final exit after a 2-1 loss to Spain, leading to all four missing Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the U.S. They also missed the chance to say goodbye to Emile Smith Rowe, who transferred to Fulham midway through.
Arsenal’s summer pre-season matches have been mixed, with one win, one draw, and one loss. They drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, beat Manchester United 2-1 in LA, and lost a penalty shootout to United. Their final U.S. match saw them defeated 2-1 by Liverpool, with goals from Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho.
Arsenal’s next fixture is against Bayer Leverkusen on August 7 at the Emirates Stadium, though it may come too soon for Saka, Saliba, Rice, and Ramsdale. They will start their Premier League campaign at home against Wolves on August 17.
