Declan Rice off the roads! Arsenal star banned from driving & slapped with fine after being caught speeding twice in a WEEK

According to the Daily Mail, Rice has been slapped with both a ban and fine after he was caught speeding near his reported £3 million ($4m) mansion in Surrey in 2024.

The report says the 26-year-old was captured doing 37mph in a 30mph zone on the A217 on 3 January last year. And just five days later, on 8 January, he was then caught doing 49mph in a 40mph zone on the same road.

Rice has now been banned from driving for six months, which came after a totting up process as the former West Ham United ace already had six points on his licence, bringing the total up to 15 points.

The Three Lions man has also been hit with a £2,185 fine, which comprises of a £1,500 financial penalty, a £600 surcharge and £85 court costs.

Rice will be hoping his misdemeanour off the pitch will not distract him as he looks to continue his fine run of form for Premier League leaders Arsenal.

After missing the Gunners’ thumping 4-1 win over fellow title contenders Aston Villa due to a knee complaint, Rice returned with a bang by scoring a brace in his side’s 3-2 victory over Bournemouth last Saturday.

In the build-up to Thursday’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, Rice told Sky Sports he was “loving” his football at the moment, saying: “I can only take every game as it comes but when I’m going on the pitch, I’m full of confidence at the moment, full of energy.

“At the start of the season, I realised myself that I probably wasn’t at my best, but this was two or three games in and obviously you’ve got a full season to go, so I wasn’t too worried, I knew I’d pick it back up.

“The good thing is with the manager, he knows when to put the knife in me, just to give me a nudge, he knows how to get the best out of me.

“I love to listen, I love to take it all in; since then, I’ve just gone on and the games are coming so thick and fast so I’m just trying to play consistently well. Every season, I think to myself, ‘how can you level up again, how can you go again and show why Arsenal brought you in?'

“This is a club where there’s fierce competition and nothing’s ever guaranteed, so you need to be able to be on it every single day and every single week just to keep your place.”

Looking to lift their first piece of silverware since the 2019-20 season, Arsenal open up their FA Cup campaign with a trip to Championship side Portsmouth on Sunday.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta said he and his players are travelling to Fratton Park with the bit between their teeth as they look to clinch what would be a record-extending 15th FA Cup crown.

“We want that one (FA Cup) for sure,” said Arteta. “That's what we are chasing. That's the purpose of this team. At the end, I think we have to get judged, and we get judged for what we do today. Last week is not important and we will get judged for what we are able to do at the end of the season. One thing is the trophies for our football club and the many other things that you have to do in a football club, especially in the situation we are in.

“I'm really happy where I am with the people I work with and hopefully they know that we give our very best to try to win as much as possible.”

Arsenal boss Arteta has also issued a positive update on Kai Havertz as he continues to build his fitness after sustaining a serious knee injury at the start of the season.

"If everything goes well, I think he's [Havertz] going to be in the squad again in the next few days,” Arteta added. “He trains well, he's increased his load, he's coping with that really well and he will be ready when we can have him.”

One Arsenal player who won’t be travelling with the matchday squad is Riccardo Calafiori, with Arteta saying the Portsmouth match has come “too early” for the Italy defender, who is recovering from a calf problem.