National World Top Stories Update Thursday 1 January, 2026
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given almost nothing away when it comes to Declan Rice’s fitness.
This weekend, Arsenal travel to Bournemouth, who apparently may still have winger Antoine Semenyo in the starting XI despite rumours of a move to Manchester City.
In a press conference today (January 2) Arteta was asked once again about Rice’s fitness - and was typically ambiguous with his response.
The Arsenal manager said: “Not yet. We have another session today. Let's see how he comes through today and how he's feeling, but it was too early that game for him.”
Elsewhere, defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Christhian Mosquera have both been ruled out, although Arsenal have been boosted by Gabriel’s return to the back line.
Arteta added: “Obviously we haven't trained yet so today is going to be the first training session properly with the players who started against Villa, so we will know more this afternoon.”
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