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Mikel Arteta speaks out on Declan Rice row with Arsenal coach during Chelsea win
Jan 16 2026 11:17 · Par Chris Davie · 31 Lectures
Declan Rice was involved in a heated row with Arsenal assistant Albert Stuivenberg (Reuters)
Mikel Arteta insists Declan Rice ’s row with Arsenal ’s assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg is ‘all sorted’.
The incident occurred at half-time during Arsenal’s 3-2 win against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night .
As Arsenal’s players gathered in the tunnel to walk back out onto the pitch, television cameras caught Rice in a heated exchange with Stuivenberg.
Rice was seen shaking his head and shouting ‘just go’ towards Stuivenberg before Gabriel Magalhaes stepped in to diffuse the situation.
The Arsenal midfielder then appeared to say, ‘he doesn’t know what the hell he is on about’, before Gabriel told his teammate, ‘calm, hey stop, hey calm.’
After he was substituted in the 82nd minute against Chelsea, Rice made a point of hugging Stuivenberg on the touchline before he made his way towards Arsenal’s dugout.
Gabriel Magalhaes stepped in to diffuse Declan Rice’s row with Albert Stuivenberg (Sky Sports)
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When asked about the row between Rice and Stuivenberg during his press conference on Friday, Arteta replied: ‘All sorted, all good.’
Asked if it shows how desperate Arsenal’s players and coaching staff are to win, Arteta replied: ‘Yes.
‘And the good thing is by the time I found out the problem was resolved, so that’s very good.’
Elsewhere, Arteta agreed with Thomas Tuchel ’s claim that England’s players will need good ‘social skills’ to make his World Cup squad this summer.
‘I fully agree with Thomas. I think it’s something incredibly necessary and many times undervalued,’ Arteta said.
‘There are players that maybe in terms of minutes, they don’t have that much impact, but the impact that they have in and around the team to bring everybody together, to create that atmosphere, to support the team and to fulfil different roles in my opinion is critical.’