‘Unbelievable’ – Kalvin Phillips picks who he thinks is the best between Arsenal’s Rice & Rodri | OneFootball

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and his Manchester City counterpart Rodri are two of the best players in their position in the world right now, and fans have often been divided on which of them is the better player right now.

England international Kalvin Phillips has played and trained with both players, establishing a solid partnership with the Arsenal star with the Three Lions during the European Championship in 2021.

The Man City star, currently on loan at Ipswich Town, played with Rodri at club level, and he has picked who he thinks is the best out of the duo, ranking the Spaniard ahead of Rice.

“Dec is unbelievable,” Phillips told Sky Sports.

“Obviously when I first trained with him at England, I could tell he was a player that would go…

“He is not just an athlete. I didn’t expect him to be so tall, so strong. When I got there I was just gobsmacked by how well he was with the ball, how quickly he covered ground and how much he covered ground, and obviously I love Declan a lot.”

Rice has been impressive since joining Arsenal from West Ham United in the summer of 2023, but Rodri has been slightly better, with his heroics for club and country putting him in a favourite position to be named in the final top three at the 2024 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony later this month.

He won Euros 2024 with his country at the expense of Rice and England, and the 28-year-old was also instrumental in helping Man City pip Arsenal to the Premier League title last season.

Rodri could be regarded a better player than the Gunners star right now, but the 25-year-old is not too far behind and also has what it takes to be widely considered as the best in his position going forward.

However, Rice may need to win major trophies for club and country to prove himself, and helping Arsenal to their first Premier League title since 2004 this season will be a huge boost for him.