Declan Rice enjoyed a hilarious exchange with Bukayo Saka over lunch at St George’s Park. Gareth Southgate named the Arsenal duo in the latest England squad as they prepare to face Brazil and Belgium in a pair of friendlies.
The Three Lions will welcome the Seleção Canarinha to Wembley Stadium on Saturday night before returning to the home of English football on Tuesday evening to face the Red Devils. With the European Championships just around the corner, Southgate has upped preparations at the training base in Burton.
The England squad have been put through their paces on the training pitches at St George’s Park, but they’ve still found time to bond with one another. This week, Nando’s announced a new sauce named ‘Peri-Peri Saka’ in collaboration with the Arsenal winger.
The restaurant describes the condiment as ‘sweet and fiery with a little kick’ and the bottle which it’s stored in has a picture of his face on it. Rice managed to get his hands on some of Saka’s sauce, which he tried for the first time over lunch at at St George’s Park on Thursday.
Taking to Instagram, the former West Ham midfielder filmed himself sitting across from the Hale End graduate at the dinner table while showing off the bottle. Rice said: “Here we go, Peri-Peri Saka time. Is it nice Saks?”
“It’s unbelievable. Mans been cooking. Mans been cooking,” replied Saka. To which Rice added: “Can’t wait to try it my guy.”
A screen-recording of Rice’s Instagram story has quickly gone viral on social media, leaving thousands of supporters in stitches. The Gunners duo first established their friendship while on international duty a few years ago.
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And, it was during this time where the Arsenal talisman began to sell Rice the dream of a move to north London. Speaking to talkSPORT in September 2023 following the midfielder’s transfer to the Emirates Stadium, Saka said: “Obviously he’d ask a few questions and I’d answer them.
“But yeah, I’d just try to give him the reassurance that he’d be coming to the right club and that the future is exciting for us. If he joined us, he’d make us better and that yeah, we can definitely achieve things.”
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