"He loves being here, it's not like he doesn't like being here, he loves playing for England, loves being around the lads.

"If people knew and understood Ben White as a character he's not fazed by anything, he goes with the flow and he just wants to play football and for England.

"Fans are entitled to their opinion, it is what it is but he doesn't feel that way with England. He wants to come out and play his best football and enjoy himself.

"I think that's credit to him, coming on and playing for England and being booed is not easy but the way his character is it really helps him.

"It's a pointless conversation, Ben has moved on, no-one talks about it around the dinner table, no-one speaks about it in the pool, we just play football and do what we need to do."

Rice has revealed he will welcome the challenge from Bournemouth's "incredible" Alex Scott after the midfielder displaced him last month.

He acknowledges he faces fierce competition for a starting berth in Arsenal's midfield, with Bruno Guimaraes alongside the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard all vying for places.

Rice said: "To be honest, Alex Scott playing was incredible. The way he's been playing for Bournemouth the last two or three seasons has been remarkable.

"The way he's being spoken about is totally right because of the levels he's set for himself and I totally understand playing for England comes with competition.

"When we signed Bruno Guimaraes, when we signed Zubimendi, when we had Myles, Merino, Odegaard, you're competing with six midfielders at your club every day so for me there's nothing different throughout my whole career there's been competition. It's normal."

Rice, 27, also reveals that he aspires to continue playing well into his 30s, citing 33-year-old Harry Kane's achievements as evidence that longevity is achievable for those who maintain their fitness.

Rice added: "If you look at Harry ... it's not a coincidence the season he's had, Ballon d'Or winner, not just because of his footballing ability, just everything he does off the pitch to look after himself.

"His mindset is always right. He's always looking forward to the game. He's always preparing himself in the right way. He's always in a good way in his mind and I feel like for me ... you need to be obsessed with football, still. Y".

"I want to play at the highest level for as long as possible. Doing that comes with sacrifices at that age, doing different things – recovery, preparing well, like I said.

"And being ready for whatever comes. Me at 33, I don't know where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing but for sure I hope I'm still at the top level, competing and playing really well."