Declan Rice has revealed he would prefer to see Harry Kane win the 2026 Ballon d'Or over his Arsenal team-mates William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, following the club's Premier League triumph last term. The England midfielder made the admission after Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory away to Napoli in the Champions League.
Arsenal's winning start in Europe
Martin Odegaard's second-half strike proved decisive at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, taking his tally to four goals for the campaign. The Gunners skipper has maintained his excellent form this season as the Premier League champions made an impressive start to their European campaign.
Mikel Arteta's squad will be hoping to progress further in Europe this season, having suffered defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the final back in May.
Rice backs Kane for Ballon d'Or
Following Arsenal's success on foreign soil, Rice adopted a controversial position about the Ballon d'Or. The Bayern Munich and England forward ranks among the frontrunners for the honour after netting 61 goals for the German club while helping secure a second successive Bundesliga title.
The England skipper now enjoys the support of his international team-mate, who disclosed his view following Wednesday's win after also being nominated for the prestigious award.
Rice said: "Yeah for sure (I'm proud), second year in a row nominated, it's obviously really good, I'm really proud."
"Obviously I know who I want to win it, I'd love to see Harry Kane win it, so I'm wishing him all the best in that. Kane has never won the Ballon d'Or, but this is surely as good a chance as he's going to get."
Merino's 'rusty' display criticised
Mikel Merino made his first start of the season in the win over the Serie A outfit. The Spaniard rejoined his Arsenal team-mates late after claiming World Cup glory alongside David Raya and Martin Zubimendi. He has since been gradually reintroduced to the squad in the early weeks of the season, coming off the bench in all three of Arsenal's league fixtures, clocking up 46 minutes of playing time.
He featured for 65 minutes against Napoli, with his display labelled as "rusty" by Gunners icon Martin Keown. Keown said: "I thought Mikel Merino coming back into midfield missed an opportunity tonight."
"We missed him last season but I thought he was a little rusty on his first start for a while. But overall it's looking good for Arsenal. The drive and determination and hunger is there."
