Arsenal star and golf-mad Declan Rice meets up with Rory McIlroy and West Ham fan Francesco Molinari in Dubai

Declan Rice is taking a break from football in Dubai, but the Arsenal star could not stay away from sport entirely.

The Gunners have this weekend off as the Premier League begins its mid-season player break, splitting one round of fixtures across two weeks.

With clubs granting their stars a few days off to recuperate, Rice flew to the Middle East for a bit of his favourite hobby.

The golf-mad England star was a special guest at the DP World Tour's season-opening Dubai Invitational.

And Rice was given quite the welcome, stepping inside the ropes with world No.2 Rory McIlroy to watch a practice round.

McIlroy was seen laughing with Rice on the range before walking the course with the midfielder.

The Northern Irish golfer is obsessed with football, as demonstrated by his recent appearance on the 'Stick to Football' podcast, so the admiration probably goes both ways.

However, McIlroy is a Manchester United supporter, and fans were quick to speculate what they could have been joking about.

talkSPORT understands the Red Devils bid £100million to sign Rice in the summer of 2022, before he ended up joining Arsenal a year later.

Ex-West Ham star Rice also stopped to chat with former Open champion Francesco Molinari, who is a massive fan of the Hammers.

Like many professional footballers, Rice uses golf to stay active and unwind outside the demands of training and fixtures.

He recently appeared on the popular YouTube channel 'Tubes and Ange Golf Life' alongside ex-Premier League star Jimmy Bullard.

And the 24-year-old already envisions a lot of golf in his future after retirement from football.

As per the Daily Mail, he has previously said: «You can take your mind off pretty much anything when you're having a round of golf.

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