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Declan Rice impresses for England in 3-1 win vs Finland

England returned to winning ways on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Finland in the Nations League.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice had a difficult outing against Greece last week, but he made amends with a much improved display against Finland on the road.

The Gunners ace had 86 touches with a passing accuracy of 96 percent. He caught the eye with his forward runs and eventually scored in the 84th minute from an Ollie Watkins cross.

Aside from his goal, the 25-year-old made four recoveries while winning 100% of his tackles. He also won three duels and lost possession on only five occasions.

Rice has had a mixed start to the season for club and country, but his latest showing should please the Gunners, who need more from him in an attacking sense.

The Englishman has been operating in the number eight role this term with manager Mikel Arteta opting for Thomas Partey in the defensive midfield position.

Rice has yet to make a goal contribution in the Premier League and Champions League and has the opportunity to change this after the international break.

Arsenal will be on the road to Bournemouth on Saturday before hosting Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool.

This will be followed by four away games at Preston North End, Newcastle United, Inter Milan and Chelsea before the final international break of the year.

Martin Odegaard may not feature in any of those games as he continues to recover from an ankle injury, but the Gunners have been handed an injury boost on Bukayo Saka.

Saka had a hamstring injury scare versus Greece. England manager Lee Carsley said that he could have played against Finland, but he did not want to take a risk with him.

Stats from Fotmob.com

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