Chelsea supervisor Enzo Maresca has supplied glowing reward for Declan Rice as he prepares his workforce for Sunday’s Premier League assembly with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. He identified how Rice’s function has modified quite a bit below Mikel Arteta, saying the midfielder is not sitting as a pure holder however is now stepping greater, nearly in the way in which Enzo Fernandez performs for Chelsea.
SoftFootball lately highlighted how necessary Rice has develop into in Arsenal’s title push, particularly after his standout performances in Europe, which Arteta believes may even push him towards the Ballon d’Or dialog.
Maresca defined in a put up shared by Fabrizio Romano on his official X account that Rice’s place is just not the identical as Moises Caicedo’s, noting that Rice has extra freedom to maneuver into superior areas.
Fabrizio Romano posted:
Enzo Maresca on Declan Rice: He’s not taking part in as a holding midfielder. He’s taking part in ahead, he’s taking part in like Enzo. It’s a special place from Caicedo’s.
He’s a improbable participant and he’s a whole participant. He can do something.
His feedback got here with a bit extra context after SoftFootball shared Rice’s personal ideas on dealing with Caicedo once more, a matchup he mentioned he enjoys due to the completely different qualities each gamers deliver.
The Chelsea boss additionally spoke about their previous time collectively at West Ham, though he refused to say any credit score for Rice’s improvement.
He mentioned the true shift occurred when Manuel Pellegrini moved Rice completely into midfield, and he believes Arteta deserves loads of reward for sharpening the participant into what he has develop into in the present day. Maresca described how he used to take Rice for further periods, and even then his high quality was apparent, however the larger transformation got here later.
He additionally talked in regards to the distinction between Rice and Caicedo. Whereas Caicedo sits deeper and focuses extra on recovering the ball, Rice’s function at Arsenal is extra fluid. Maresca mentioned the England worldwide can defend, assault, break traces, and nonetheless cowl floor like few others.
He ended by calling Rice a whole participant, including that his adaptability is likely one of the causes Arsenal are six factors clear. Chelsea will attempt to restrict him on Sunday, however Maresca admitted it’s by no means a straightforward activity.
