Declan Rice showed off his signed guitar from Ed Sheeran on Instagram with the pop icon congratulating him on his stellar free-kicks in the Champions League. The Arsenal star and Sheeran have a history of performing together with the latter joking about their next duet.
Rice has enjoyed an impressive few weeks, notably on the Champions League stage. Whilst the Gunners are set to see Liverpool crowned Premier League champions they have continued to advance in Europe, dumping out Real Madrid last week.
They secured a win at the Bernabeu, where Rice dominated his midfield battle against Jude Bellingham. The week earlier and it was the former West Ham man who stood up with two stunning free-kicks in a 3-0 victory over the Spanish giants.
Rice has a semi-final with PSG to look forward to but on a personal level he’s also gained some classy memorabilia.
The 26-year-old took to social media to show off the instrument, which included the note: “Declan! You play this next time I see you, we’ll have a sing song. P.s. killer free-kicks!”
Rice and Sheeran’s unlikely link up dates back to the England camp during Euro 2020, when the then-Hammers midfielder joined the pop icon for a duet of the Oasis hit Wonderwall after being made to sing when he was late for a team meeting.
He previously explained: “I was late for a meeting and they said, ‘you’ve got to sing’. I said, ‘no chance, I’m not singing, I’ll do anything but sing’. They were all cracking up.
“Then they went quiet on it. Then Harry Kane organised for Ed to come in and see the lads and have a bit of a chill night and he’s gone, ‘You’ve got to get up now and sing’. I thought, ‘What, in front of everyone?’
“So we’re sat outside on benches and Ed was just playing his guitar and I’m singing Wonderwall.”
Rice and Arsenal saw off Sheeran’s beloved Ipswich on Sunday, securing a 4-0 win at Portman Road to push the Tractor Boys closer to the drop.
The Gunners also needed to win to ensure that they delayed Liverpool’s title party with their official crowning having to wait a bit longer.
Arsenal’s win at Ipswich puts them in pole position to secure second place for the third straight year but their hopes of landing silverware this term rests on how they go in Europe. Next week they will host PSG in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final.
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