Wayne Rooney tips ‘irreplaceable’ Declan Rice to be next England captain - with Arsenal midfielder ready to step in when record-shattering Harry Kane retires

Kane remains leader of England for now and will retain that role heading into the 2026 World Cup. He will, however, turn 33 next summer and is already seeing questions asked of when he will bow out.

Kane is expected to pass Peter Shilton’s record haul of 125 caps, having already recorded 78 goals for the Three Lions and become their most prolific marksman. Many are tipping the fearsome No.9 to become England’s GOAT.

Filling his boots will not be easy, whenever captaincy duty comes up for grabs, but Manchester United legend Rooney - who once took on that role himself - believes Rice is ready to take on that responsibility after becoming a star performer for the Premier League title hopefuls.

Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show, the ex-England skipper said after witnessing another eye-catching display for Arsenal in a battling 1-0 win over Everton: “I have to say, Declan Rice is incredible, it was a pleasure watching him. He was all over the pitch and his decision making, when to pass it, where to pass it, what foot to pass it to, his detail on his pass. And it was a pleasure to watch, he was absolutely incredible.

“He's splitting the centre-backs, he's taking the ball off the centre-backs, acting as a third centre-back, then next minute he's in the box, trying to score a goal. The detail of his passes, picking up second balls, always landing on balls, and sometimes some of the stuff he does goes a little bit underrated, but he was absolutely incredible.

“Obviously Harry Kane's captain, but he's the future captain of England. For me, he's the one who's probably waiting for Harry to hang his boots up at some point. Then he's the right one to take over for me because just his drive, his personality, everyone seems to love him, who knows him, who's close to him. He's irreplaceable for England.”

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Rooney has also offered his take on Viktor Gyokeres’ value to Arsenal, with the Swedish frontman netting his seventh goal of the season when converting a match-winning penalty against Everton.

With Gyokeres facing questions of his contribution to the collective cause in north London, Rooney said: “See, I disagree. As a forward, at 0-0, your penalty taker should be taking the penalty. I think if the game's done, the game's won, then yeah, but at 0-0, your penalty taker has to be the one. If he misses that, then there's problems.

“Your penalty taker is your penalty taker for a reason. You should be the one to take the penalty. And I completely get it. I've given penalties to people who need the goal. But we've been 3-4 nil up. At 0-0? I know he's the number nine and your goalscorer, you're doing it for confidence. But your penalty taker should be the one to take the penalty - in a big game away from home when you're going to try and win the league. I think, thankfully from Arsenal's point of view, he scored.

“I think he does more than what you say, yeah, he hasn't scored the goals, which obviously he scored in the Portuguese league, but I think he does a bit more than what you see. Like even last night, he occupies the two centre backs and he occupied Tarkowski and Michael Keane. I thought Michael Keane was brilliant again, he's been really good for Everton. But what he does, he occupies them, so that creates a bit more space then for your number 10 or your wide players who are coming inside. It just keeps the centre backs on the toes and makes them aware that he's there.

“It creates a little bit more space for other players. So I think he is important for Arsenal. He's doing a job for Arsenal which helps other players. He just hasn't got the goals which you'd expect from him.

“He'll certainly help if that's what they go on to do and win the title. Like last season we've seen the ball going out wide and Declan Rice was actually the one who was going to be that presence in the penalty box for Arsenal and doing probably a bit more work than he had to because they lacked that number nine last season. And that's what I mean about where he is giving other players a bit more space.

“You maybe don't see it, it's not eye-catching, but he does occupy the centre-back. So I think he's doing a job for Arsenal. 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 to win the league, then he'll have had a big role to play, definitely.”

A narrow victory at the Hill Dickinson Stadium lifted Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League table, with a two-point lead being held over Manchester City. The Gunners, with Rice and Gyokeres looking to deliver more moments of inspiration, will be back in action on Tuesday when facing Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.