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Mead & Russo seal vital Champions League win for struggling Arsenal

Arsenal will be relieved to have hit the international break after their sluggish form continued on Thursday, albeit in a 2-0 victory at Benfica that got their Champions League title defence up and running. The Gunners have found things tough as of late, winning just one of their last five games coming into this fixture, and those struggles continued in a rather toothless performance in Portugal despite goals from Beth Mead and Alessia Russo.

Frequently asked questions

Declan Rice primarily plays as a defensive midfielder for Arsenal, either as a single pivot or in a double-pivot formation. More recently, though, he has been used in a bit more advanced position as an #8, thanks to his progressive ball-carrying and goalscoring abilities.

Declan Rice was born in Kingston upon Thames in the Greater London region in England.

The English international dons the No. 41 jersey at his current club Arsenal. In an episode of The Overlap in 2022, where he had a chat with Gary Neville, Rice explained that 41 was a number given to his by his kit man at his previous club, West Ham United, and that he continues to wear it because he's superstitious.

The Arsenal man is 1.88m (6ft 2in) tall, and is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at the moment.

Declan Rice weighs 80kg (176 lbs) and is a physically dominant force in midfield.

Declan Rice spent the majority of his youth career at Chelsea (2006-2013), before spending two years in West Ham United's youth setup.

Declan Rice and long-term girlfriend Lauren Fryer welcomed their first child, son Jude, in August 2022.

Declan Rice hasn't exchanged vows yet, but he has been dating childhood sweetheart Lauren Fryer since 2016.