‘Incredible’ Rice is ‘future captain of England’ – Rooney

Former England striker Wayne Rooney has hailed Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice as a “future captain” of the Three Lions after watching the 26-year-old help the Gunners return to the top of the Premier League with victory at Everton.

Rooney, who captained England for three years from 2014 to 2017, was at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to see Mikel Arteta’s side secure a scrappy 1-0 win on Saturday evening.

Rice, who has won 72 caps at senior international level, has worn the armband twice before in the absence of current skipper Harry Kane – in a 2-2 draw with Belgium in March 2024 and a 3-0 win over Wales in October this year.

“For me, he’s the one who’s probably waiting for Harry to hang up his boots at some point,” Rooney said in the latest episode of BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.

“He was all over the pitch [against Everton]. His decision-making – when to pass it, where to pass it, what foot to pass it to, his detail on his pass – it was a pleasure to watch. He was absolutely incredible.

“He was splitting centre-backs, taking the ball off [Arsenal’s] centre-backs, acting as a third centre-back, then next minute he’s in the box, trying to score a goal. Sometimes, some of the stuff he does is a bit underrated.

“He’s the right one to take over [Kane] for me, because [of] his drive, his personality. Everyone seems to love him, who knows him, who’s close to him. He’s irreplaceable for England.”

After a difficult start to his Leeds United career, Rooney’s former Everton team-mate Dominic Calvert-Lewin has hit a purple patch in recent weeks.

The 28-year-old had scored just once in 10 league appearances prior to Leeds’ 3-2 defeat at Manchester City last month but has now found the net in each of his past five outings, scoring twice in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace at Elland Road.

Rooney feels the striker could yet force his way into Thomas Tuchel’s squad for next summer’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

“If he continues this, then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be talked about – or even get an opportunity – to go to the World Cup, purely because of the lack of forwards England have got,” Rooney said.

“He competes, he’s great in the air, he’s good in both boxes. When he’s in a run of form and scoring goals like he is, he’s a handful to play against.

“You forget, he’s still quite young, he’s still got a bit left in him and you forget how good a player he is.”

Calvert-Lewin scored 71 goals during his time at Everton but only found the net three times in his final season with the club, missing over three months of the campaign with a hamstring injury.

“I think Everton made the right decision [to let him go],” Rooney continued. “Over the past couple of seasons, he was never fit, really, and he was out of contract.

“It would have been very difficult for Everton to give him a new contract with his injury record, but he’s gone to Leeds, kept himself fit. The physios are doing a good job with him there.”

Despite scoring the only goal against David Moyes’ side, Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres has struggled for form since his summer move from Sporting.

The Sweden international’s emphatic penalty was his seventh goal in all competitions this season – and first since a 2-0 victory at Burnley on 1 November.

Rooney, though, feels Gyokeres should not only be judged by his goalscoring record.

“He does a bit more than what you see,” he said. “Even [on Saturday], he occupies the two centre-backs, [James] Tarkowski and Michael Keane. That creates a bit more space for your number 10 or your wide players who are coming inside.

“I think he’s important for Arsenal. He’s doing a job which helps other players, he just hasn’t got the goals which you’d expect from him.

“You maybe don’t see it, it’s not eye-catching, but he does occupy the centre-back. Can he be better? Of course he can. Should he score more goals playing in that team? Yeah, he should.

“But I think if Arsenal go on to win the league, then he’ll have had a big role to play, definitely.”