John Terry believes that Declan Rice remains underappreciated at Arsenal, with much of his defensive work going under the radar.
The former Chelsea captain has called him ‘world-class’ along with Moises Caicedo, claiming that these midfielders rarely get the credit they deserve.
Agree or disagree, one of Mikel Arteta’s best pieces of work at Arsenal has been Declan Rice’s evolution in attack.
If Arsenal were to win the Premier League, Rice would likely be the man to win the PFA Player of the Year award, given the way he has carried the Gunners at times.
However, despite all the praise which the 26-year-old has been receiving, Terry claims his attacking play goes under the radar.
John Terry says Declan Rice’s defensive work for Arsenal is underappreciated
John Terry claims that midfielders like Arsenal’s Declan Rice remain underappreciated, given everything they contribute to the team.
The former Premier League defender believes that many of Arsenal’s best moments start with Rice, along with all the defensive work he does for the team.
Speaking on Zac Djellab’s YouTube channel, Terry said: “Dec, who’s like for me one of the best in the world. Him and Caicedo have been incredible.
“I would put him in that bracket, but I think a lot of Arsenal’s really good play goes through Dec as well.
“Of course, a lot of their defensive work gets stopped at the source with him as well. So, defensively, they’ve been very good, but also, he cleans up a lot of their attacks and stuff like that for me.
“So, I just talk in terms of again being a defender, this is how I see the game, and I see it that those boys don’t get appreciated enough.
“Whereas a midfielder, an eight or a 10 can go have a bad game, go miss him for 85 minutes, get one on the edge of the box, put it top corner, and everyone goes, ‘Oh, he’s been man of the match’.”
Agree or disagree? Is Declan Rice too emotional?
Paul Scholes seems to think so
After the North London derby, Rice has been labelled ‘too emotional’ after his mistake led to Tottenham getting back into the game at 1-1.
But for much of the season, it has been Rice carrying the Gunners, and as Terry points out, his work has gone unnoticed at times.
Declan Rice compared to Moises Caicedo this season
As Terry rightly points out, Rice and Caicedo remain two of the best midfielders in the Premier League and have continued to impress this season.
Many Premier League fans like to compare Rice and Caicedo, although the stats show they are very different midfielders.
Rice leads the way for creativity with more chances created and assists, whereas Caicedo leads the way for stats like Duels won and interceptions.
But if it came down to it, Rice would be the player making the Premier League Team of the Season over the Chelsea star.
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