Arsenal star David Raya has heaped praise on one of his teammates following some recent heroics for the side in the Champions League.
The Gunners are aiming to make their way to the final in the competition for just the second time in their history – the first of which being the 2006 Champions League final lost to Barcelona.
Standing in their way is PSG, with the French outfit looking transformed under Luis Enrique in recent months.
Arsenal will be looking to repeat their heroics from their victory over Real Madrid, playing host at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg once again.
The key to that progression was a brace from Declan Rice, who has come in for plenty of praise from David Raya.
David Raya claims Declan Rice is a “top three” midfielder in the world
Arsenal star David Raya has lavished praise on Declan Rice, claiming he is a “top three” midfielder in the world right now.
The midfielder has been a crucial part of the team this season, with Rice’s free-kick brace against Real Madrid the most important intervention he has made.
It led to Rice being a topic of discussion when Raya met with Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video.
On Rice, the Arsenal goalkeeper said: “Has to be top three, top three in the world. He can do everything, he can play as an eight, he can play as a six, he can play box-to-box, he can defend, he can attack.”
Foster added: “He can take free-kicks as well now.”
To which Raya retorted: “He can take free-kicks now. He’s top, and the main thing is he’s a top lad.
“He’s a great, great guy to be around. He works hard, how he manages the games and how he wants to be on the ball, but then the amount of kilometres that he covers is incredible.”
It’s some top praise for Rice, a player who has truly stood out as a leader at the club over the course of the season.
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Jamie Carragher once backed Arsenal star Declan Rice over Rodri
When it comes to midfielders, if Rice is among the top three, then questions may remain over the other two who would join him.
Manchester City star Rodri is almost definitely in the conversation, given his Ballon d’Or triumph and the drop-off from his team after a serious knee injury.
It says a lot that, even back in 2023, Jamie Carragher claimed that he would pick Rice over Rodri when writing for the Daily Telegraph.
“There is no bigger compliment I can give to Rice than this: I would rather have him in my team than Rodri,” the former Liverpool defender said at the time.
“I feel the same way about Rice that I felt about Roy Keane when he joined Manchester United for a British record fee in 1993, and Alan Shearer when he joined Newcastle United in 1996. Harry Kane is another; he was a guarantee for Bayern Munich this summer.
“From the moment he joined Arsenal, you knew that Rice would be brilliant. He has been probably the most influential player in the Premier League this season and, every time I watch him, he reminds me of Keane.”
It is unclear exactly who may be better out of Rice and Rodri, but the development of the former is certainly giving a challenge to the latter.
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