Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Ray Parlour explains what he 'loves' about Declan Rice amid Moises Caicedo comparison

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has exclusively told Sports Mole what he 'loves' about £105m man Declan Rice amid recent comparisons with Chelsea enforcer Moises Caicedo.

The two midfield maestros will go head-to-head in Sunday's tantalising Premier League battle between the Gunners and the Blues, who can move to within three points of Mikel Arteta's men in the top-flight table with victory at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal memorably expressed a strong interest in Caicedo in early 2023, but Brighton & Hove Albion refused to sanction his departure in the January transfer window, and the North London club opted to move for Rice in the summer window rather than reigniting their pursuit of the South American.

Two years later, both mega-money midfielders are considered among the best in their position in the country, a sentiment that Parlour agreed with as he compared the Englishman and Ecuadorian ahead of the London derby.

“They've been the best two midfielders in the league this year, there's no doubt about that," the three-time Premier League winner told Sports Mole.

Declan Rice vs. Moises Caicedo: The "same" but "different" in Ray Parlour's eyes

"Rice has got the energy to get forward a little bit more, Fernandez is the one who breaks into the box quite often, and he's the one who's going to try and get the end of crosses and score goals like we saw Burnley.

“Rice has got Zubimendi behind him, but they're both superb players, both very important players for the team. Rice has been one of the best signings for Arsenal in the last few years.

“It’s a lot of money, but no one worries about the money. Same as Caicedo, no one's really talking about that anymore. They're both superb players, a little bit different - Rice is so mobile, an old-school central midfielder, which I love.

“He can be a holding player if he has to, but also you see him at the other end of the pitch making chances. You can see the crowd responding to him, and he's such an important player. Not just on the pitch but off as well.

“He's been brilliant, but Caicedo's been brilliant as well, so it's going to be really interesting to see who comes out on top.”

How do Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo compare this season?

Rice was initially anticipated to become Arsenal's new number six, gradually phasing Thomas Partey out of the starting lineup amid concerns over the Ghanaian's fitness, but he instead inherited the Granit Xhaka left-eight role to devastating effect.

In contrast, Caicedo has operated more defensively for Chelsea - allowing Enzo Fernandez to work his magic further forwards - although the Ecuador international still boasts one more Premier League goal (3) than Rice's two in the 2025-26 Premier League.

The ex-West Ham United man has registered three assists compared to Caicedo's solitary helper, though - a statistic that is helped by his frequent on-the-money set-pieces, allowing him to create 1.8 chances per game compared to Caicedo's 0.5.

However, Caicedo's overall pass accuracy rate is marginally higher than Rice's 90.1% at 90.7%, and the Chelsea man also makes more tackles per game (3.1 to 1.8) and interceptions per game (2.4 to 0.8) than the Arsenal lynchpin.

Martin Zubimendi is tasked with the dirty work in Arteta's system rather than Rice, though, and the mouthwatering midfield battle will no doubt prove pivotal to both chances' of a statement success at Stamford Bridge.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting.