“I have face Rodri but this particular Arsenal’s midfielder is far better than him”: Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah names Arsenal midfielder as the most dangerous midfielder to play against
Arsenal and Manchester City boast two of the world’s best midfielders in Declan Rice and Rodri.
Arsenal broke the bank in 2023 to sign Declan Rice, striking a £105million deal with West Ham United to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, Manchester City paid Atletico Madrid around £63million to sign Rodri in 2019, and he, like Rice at Arsenal, has become crucial for his club.
Liverpool star Alexis Mac Allister has now been tasked with ranking Rice and Rodri, along with Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo, from first to third.
Alexis Mac Allister names Arsenal star Declan Rice in second and Manchester City ace Rodri in third
Mac Allister is the latest guest on Sky Sports Saturday Social Ranks, where he is tasked with ranking a number of different topics from first to third.
On the subject of his toughest midfield opponent, the Liverpool ace had to rank Caicedo, Rice and Rodri.
He named Caicedo in first place, deeming him “very complete” and the toughest to play against in terms of physically coming up against him.
Mac Allister then named Rice second, saying he’s a “top player”, before then naming Rodri in third place.
However, the Anfield ace stressed that he only put Rodri in third because he moves the ball on so fast that players don’t properly come up against him.
“If you ask me who is the better player, I would say Rodri, but the toughest to play against is Moises,” said Mac Allister.
Declan Rice v Rodri
Rice and Rodri are both world-class players who have become indispensable for their respective clubs and countries.
Indeed, Rodri’s long-term injury absence this season has shown how important he is to Manchester City, who have struggled without him.
Obviously it’s impossible to do a like-for-like comparison between the two this season due to Rodri having missed most of it due to injury.
However, Rodri is usually deemed the more technically gifted player, excelling in passing and vision.
Meanwhile, Rice is a more defensively-focused player who’s brilliant at winning possession and disrupting opposing attacks.
In addition, the Arsenal midfielder has really worked on his set-piece deliveries this season.
This has been evident as per the impressive corners he often takes and, of course, those two free kicks against Real Madrid.
