Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has warned fans it is impossible to compare Blues star Moisés Caicedo with Arsenal’s Declan Rice because of the pair’s differing roles on the pitch.
Caicedo has received widespread acclaim this season—praise which Chelsea supporters will argue he deserved 12 months ago—and is now being hailed as perhaps the leading defensive midfielder in world football.
Comparisons to Arsenal star Rice have been common even before the build-up to Sunday’s meeting between the two London rivals. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is in an unique position, having worked with both players during his career.
Maresca: Rice Can Do Anything
“It was a little bit different time when I was at West Ham,” said Maresca, who assisted Manuel Pellegrini for 18 months across 2018 and 2019.
“[Rice] was younger, I spent many extra sessions with Declan, one vs. one, and you could see that he was already very good.
“He was with second-team players as a central defender. Manuel Pellegrini decided to play him in the first team as a midfielder but [he] was different age compared to Moisés. But you could see that he was already very, very good.”
Rice has since moved away from the defensive role afforded to him at West Ham, and Maresca believes his role is now too different to compare to Caicedo.
“He’s not playing as a holding midfielder,” Maresca stressed. “He’s playing forward, he’s playing like Enzo Fernandez. It’s a different position.
“It’s evolution for him and it’s Mikel [Arteta]’s work. He is a fantastic player and he’s a complete player. He can defend, he can attack, he can do anything.”
Arteta: Rice’s Impact on Arsenal ‘Huge’
As Maresca pointed out, Rice’s emergence at West Ham came as a centre back, before he really made his name as a defensive midfielder. He was signed to take up a similar role at Arsenal but now enjoys far more attacking freedom in Arteta’s side.
“He can adapt to anything that you throw at him,” Arteta explained when asked about this transition. “But at the moment that forward thinking and anything that is in front of him is probably much more positive for the team. He has earned the right to increase that role, to be more and more important, to be very present in everything that we do.
“He’s in the leadership group, which is very important as well, and it’s a real presence. Sometimes you don’t need to just wear the armband to feel really connected, really powerful and really important in the team.”
Arteta went on to confess he believed Rice was in his prime during the early months of his Arsenal tenure, but the new attacking side of his game has taken the England international’s talents to new heights.
“Probably yes, a year or two ago,” Arteta admitted. “But now being with him every single day and understanding and connecting with him in the way that I’ve done, we’re going to get more. Because he wants more and he’s going to get more.
“The team knows him better, his role is growing around the team, the impact that he has on the team is huge and we’ll find ways to make it even better.”
Rice: I Voted for Caicedo for Team of the Year
Rice also acknowledged the differences between himself and Caicedo as he admitted selecting the Chelsea midfielder in his submission for the 2024–25 PFA Team of the Year. Liverpool duo Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister ultimately joined Rice in the squad.
“I have a lot of respect for Moisés Caicedo,” he told CBS Sports. “I voted him last year in my PFA Team of the Year. I thought he was outstanding.
“There’s so many comparisons, but we’re playing different positions.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Enzo Maresca Explains Key Difference Between Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo.
