Arsenal star Declan Rice has labelled Manchester City midfielder Rodri as the “best in the world”.

Speaking to The Athletic, Rice acknowledged that there is now a rivalry between the two players as they play the same position in rival teams:

“I enjoy it [the rivalry]. We’re different players, I feel. With Rodri, he was born in Spain, he’s always been a natural No 6. You can just tell by the way he plays that he’s worked under Pep [Guardiola] for so long. He’s a lot more structured than I am. I’d say I’m a lot more off-the-cuff.”

“Obviously, this season I’ve been more structured. But in terms of the way I play, I feel like…being free a little bit more. There are different things that we complement each other on – but no doubt, he’s the best in the world.”

Rodri is now 70 unbeaten

You can’t really argue with Rice’s comments. The Spanish international has become the metronome for this City side over the past few months.

Not only is Rodri there to break up play, he is also very capable of progressing the ball through the thirds and starting attacks. The fact that he is now 70 matches unbeaten in all competitions when playing for City demonstrates his huge importance to the Premier League champions.

Rice has explained why he didn’t join City in the summer

The Manchester club did table a bid for the England international before he signed for Arsenal back in July. However, they decided against going head-to-head with the Gunners in the battle for his signature. From the sound of things, it seems Rice had made up his mind early on that he wanted to make the switch to the Emirates.

When asked to explain his decision to snub the Cityzens, Rice said that the “project seemed more exciting” at Arsenal. The fact that he doesn’t have to compete with Rodri for a starting spot was probably another key factor.