Declan Rice has been earning the praise of Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal teammates in recent weeks.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has been handed a new nickname by his teammates following his reaction to last week's disappointing 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park.

That loss saw the Gunners crash out of the Carabao Cup in the semi-final stage but Mikel Arteta's side have had a luxurious week-and-a-half without action before this weekend's Premier League meeting with Leicester City. Other top flight sides, including the Foxes, were involved in FA Cup action but Arsenal were knocked out by Manchester United last month.

Arteta's men have been putting in the hard yards on the training pitch and, in an interview with Sky Sports, Rice admitted that his approach to training had come with a new animal-themed nickname from his colleagues. The England international said: "I think it was [Oleksandr] Zinchenko who started it and then Jorginho and everyone now just calls me 'the horse'.

Declan Rice known as ‘the horse’ by Arsenal teammates

"I think they think I can run all day and that I'm athletic and my ability to go again and my sustainability and availability to the team. Today, two days since the last game, I'm running around and training and they are just looking at me like I'm a madman.

"They call me the horse. I don't mind it! I've got to keep it going."

Rice played the full 90 minutes against the Magpies last week and has started all of the Gunners' last eight fixtures in all competitions. The midfielder has now played over 2,500 minutes this term.

His performances in the middle of the park have earned praise from Arteta in recent weeks. The Spaniard said: "His intent, his purpose, especially attacking the positions he is taking and how he's driving with the ball," Arteta said of the England international. "There is another bite to his game and today he could have scored two goals.

"In the last few weeks he had some big, big open chances to score to affect the game, so overall, I'm very happy because we need to affect the game from those positions and he's certainly capable of doing that."

Rice revels in praise from Mikel Arteta

Reacting to that praise, Rice admitted that he had upped his game this season with Arsenal languishing in the Premier League title race. He said: "It's really nice to hear. It probably was a slower start to the season for me coming off the back of the Euros - probably because I've been so consistent over the last few years. But now I'm hitting form and full fitness at the right time.

"But I knew I had to up my game, up my level. Over the last few months, I've been watching lots of clips, sitting down with analysts and seeing where I can improve. There's been a gradual, really good increase so I need to keep going until the back end of the season now."

In other news, a 'highly sought-after' defender has signed a new contract with a Championship club despite interest from Arsenal.