you are welcome radarA Sky Sports column in which nick wright Uses a mix of data and opinion to shed light on the must-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Rice’s offensive development at Arsenal
🔥 Caicedo’s ball-winning and press resistance
A player to watch this weekend
casado or rice? An epic midfield battle
Sunday’s meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal, live sky sportsPits the top two of the Premier League against each other. It’s also a battle between their two best midfielders. Moises Caicedo vs. Declan Rice isn’t so much a subplot as a box-office attraction in its own right.
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As Arsenal and Chelsea fans debate which midfielder is better, check out some of Rice and Caicedo’s best highlights for Arsenal and Chelsea
The events of midweek showed that this pairing may indeed be the best in Europe, let alone the Premier League. Twenty-four hours after Caicedo dominated Barcelona’s midfield at Stamford Bridge, Declan Rice did something similar against Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium. Overwhelmed by two giants of the Champions League.
Those midweek performances added another similarity between the two players, whose fortunes have been intertwined since joining their respective clubs a month apart in 2023 for a fee in excess of £100million.
It is fair to say that the expense is justified in both cases.
In another life, they may even go in the opposite direction on Sunday. Caicedo was once a transfer target for Arsenal. Rice came through Chelsea’s academy before moving to West Ham.
But there are differences among them too, especially in terms of their status. “He’s a well-rounded No. 6 while I’m a box-to-box No. 8,” Rice said. Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher on Wednesday.
Caicedo and Rice’s heat maps show how their positions differ
Rice’s role has evolved in ways few expected since joining Arsenal. Having moved from No. 6 to No. 8 on the left in his first two seasons, he now operates somewhere between the two, or to put it more accurately, everywhere between the two, as part of a midfield pivot alongside Martin Zubimendi.
Rice played as a number 6 in his first season, as a number 8 in his second, and is now part of a double pivot with Martin Zubimendi (36).
“He is becoming a complete player,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said earlier this month. “A player has to do as many things as possible and have the ability to do it.”
The game against Bayern Munich, in which he was named man of the match, was the latest example of that perfection. Rice was everywhere, sometimes bursting beyond Bayern’s final line; Others were tracking to win challenges, one of which, on former Spurs striker Harry Kane at the end of the game, was celebrated like a goal.
His set-piece delivery has been a revelation. Only a fortnight ago he was named among the Puskás Award nominees for his second spectacular free-kick against Real Madrid in April. But his offensive threat isn’t limited to dead-ball situations. Arsenal have been richly rewarded for pursuing him further.
His total of 31 Premier League goals and assists over the past three seasons is almost three times more than Caicedo’s. This is the fourth most for Arsenal in the same timeframe, behind only Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz.
He has become an invaluable attacking weapon.
Of course, Caicedo operates farther off target than Rice. But he is also capable of contributing offensively. With three Premier League goals this season, including spectacular strikes from distance against Liverpool and Brentford, he has already overtaken his total from the previous two campaigns.
Like Rice, he offers flexibility. He was used as a number 8 by Graham Potter, before being established as Brighton’s number 6 under Roberto De Zerbi. The latter is actually seen as his best role, at his childhood club Independiente del Valle in Ecuador.
Sunday 30 November at 4:00 pm
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“Moises had a big influence in the game and he helped the team more as a number 8, because he had the ability to score, the last pass, he was able to go into the box and he was very aggressive in the first press,” the club’s former head coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez said in conversation. sky sports,
Those attributes could open up possibilities similar to those used by Arsenal with Rice in the future. But for now he is serving as Chelsea’s No. 6 to Enzo Maresca, where his ball-winning skills have few rivals.
Caicedo excels as a ball-winner in Chelsea’s midfield
Caicedo has excellent physical ability combined with a rare level of tactical awareness, ensuring he is almost always in good position to suppress opposition attacks and evade counters. He has made the most interceptions in the Premier League this season. He also ranks high in the middle third in terms of tackles won and possessions.
He plays a vital role in creating Chelsea’s attacks as well as spoiling the opposition’s attacks. His performance against Barcelona, when he completed 69 of his 73 passes, giving him a success rate of 94.5 per cent, highlighted his composure and quality on the ball.
Caicedo is not as detailed as Rice in his obituary. Rice makes about twice as long passes on average. But when it comes to retaining possession under pressure, the Ecuador international comes out on top as the best in the Premier League, although this is another area in which both players excel in different positions too.
Rice could be the player to put the pressure on Caicedo at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and vice versa, as the two players are at the absolute peak of their powers vying for superiority in a midfield battle that could ultimately decide the outcome of the game.
Is Anderson the next £100million midfielder?
There is another Premier League midfielder who could soon give competition to Caicedo and Rice in the form of Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson.
The 23-year-old, who signed for £35million from Newcastle last year, is already being touted as a potential £100million player and it’s easy to see why.
Anderson has also excelled in the context of a difficult season for Forest, who sit one point above the relegation zone after changing their manager twice. Without him their condition will become even worse.
Anderson, who has also established himself at international level with England this season, is doing all the things a typical central midfielder should do, in and out of possession, and is showing the kind of profile on which top clubs are willing to spend big.
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
Morgan Rodgers dominates the discussion around Aston Villa, but don’t overlook his importance boubakar kamra,
With him starting this season, Unai Emery’s side have a win rate of 64 percent, while without him it is 33 percent. Expect him to play a quietly decisive role again when they face Wolves on Sunday.
Live Radar: What’s in the sky this weekend?
Saturday brings a double-header everton face newcastle before 5.30 pm tottenham’s meeting with fulham 8 pm. watch live sky sports premier league And main event From 5 pm onwards.
It’s a multi-view extravaganza on Sundays Aston Villa versus wolves, nottingham forest versus brighton And West Ham versus liverpool Will be shown on Sky Sports at 2.05 pm.
Then this is bigger: chelsea’s meeting with armory available for viewing sky sports premier league And main event From 4pm onwards before kick-off at 4.30pm.
Read the last radar column
radar Last week the family was struck by illness and the column was an unfortunate accident. The last one published before the international break asked if Liverpool could stay erling holland, Narrator’s Voice: They couldn’t stop Erling Holland.
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