Declan Rice and Edu Gaspar left blown away by news coming out of Arsenal

Declan Rice is now probably the only player who Arsenal fans will be willing to play 180 minutes of international football over the break, games that are always tense from a club perspective.

As we all know, Rice is suspended for Arsenal’s upcoming north London derby, a huge loss for Mikel Arteta.

But during this international break, Arteta will simply just be hoping that he doesn’t have any more bad luck with injury, given Gabriel Jesus has been absent and Mikel Merino has just suffered a freak issue.

Arsenal fans will be praying that the likes of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba return safely – two of the world’s best youngsters.

Fortunately, both of England’s games are local, with Saka travelling to Dublin before then returning to Wembley to face Finland.

Of course, as has been the case since December 2022, Raheem Sterling has not been called up by England.

Declan Rice shares three-word response as Raheem Sterling handed Arsenal number

Gareth Southgate said earlier this year that Sterling had a ‘fight on his hands’ to resurrect his England career – a fight he’s now taken to north London.

Sterling is now training with Arsenal at London Colney, and finally received his squad number on Tuesday.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with Raheem Sterling at Sobha Realty Training Centre on September 03, 2024 in London Colney, England.

Sterling will wear the number 30 at Arsenal, and after being photographed wearing his new colours and digits, the forward took to Instagram to share a message with fans.

The new Arsenal signing uploaded a collection of photos alongside a caption of: “New Threads, New Number, New Focus. Buzzing to be a Gunner.”

And although he’s away with England right now, Rice found the time to reply, alongside Arsenal’s sporting director, Edu.

Rice said: “They ain’t ready”, whereas Edu simply left some congratulatory emojis for a player who he’ll now know very well.

Declan Rice and Edu Gaspar react as Raheem Sterling is finally handed his squad number at Arsenal.

Sterling can immediately help Arsenal win the North London derby

Of course, Sterling is currently preparing to help Arsenal win the North London derby, a dramatic game to be making your debut in.

And whilst it will simply be a nice moment for Sterling to get on the pitch at all, he actually might be crucial immediately.

Arsenal should definitely start Gabriel Martinelli against Tottenham, a player who is primed to exploit all of the space behind Spurs’ high line.

And although it seems unrealistic to suggest that Sterling will start the game, perhaps he could already be envisioning himself scoring the winner off of the bench.

Micah Richards celebrated Sterling’s ability to get in behind opposition defences recently, and perhaps this could be the perfect start for the four-time Premier League winner.