Jamie Carragher believes Declan Rice is a better defensive midfielder than Rodri.
The pundit picked the Arsenal lynchpin in his EA FC 24 Team of the Year on CBS Sports (via their YouTube channel).
The pair have been pitted against each other ever since Rice decided to sign for the Gunners in the summer transfer window.
Jamie Carragher says Declan Rice “has the edge” over Rodri
In October, Pep Guardiola admitted that the Sky Blues were interested in signing the Englishman.
However, the Catalan tactician claimed that Arsenal’s persuasion and City perhaps being unable to afford his arrival meant he chose to sign for last season’s runners-up in the Premier League.
Jamie Carragher now believes Declan Rice is a superior player to Rodri.
“For me, Declan Rice just has the edge over Rodri”, he said on CBS Sports.
A month ago, the popular pundit also went as far as to say that if Arsenal had not signed the former West Ham United captain, they would not have been in the title race with Manchester City this season.
Interestingly, in September, the Europa Conference League winner hailed the £63 million (Daily Mail) man as “incredible” when discussing the defensive midfielders he holds in the highest regard.
There is no reason why Rodri should not be rated higher than the Arsenal midfielder
In our view, it seems like a classic case of recency bias from Jamie Carragher when giving Declan Rice the edge over Rodri.
There is no denying that Rice has been a revelation in an Arsenal shirt and is one of the best in the world in his position.
But Rodri has been on the same level, if not superior to the 24-year-old, whilst having performed at much higher standards for the past couple of seasons.
As a result, it seems puzzling why Jamie Carragher believes Declan Rice has pipped Rodri in any way, shape or form when there is no evidence to suggest that has been the case.
