Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has offered glowing praise for Declan Rice as he prepares his team for Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. He pointed out how Rice’s role has changed a lot under Mikel Arteta, saying the midfielder is no longer sitting as a pure holder but is now stepping higher, almost in the way Enzo Fernandez plays for Chelsea.
SoftFootball recently highlighted how important Rice has become in Arsenal’s title push, especially after his standout performances in Europe, which Arteta believes could even push him toward the Ballon d’Or conversation.
Maresca explained in a post shared by Fabrizio Romano on his official X account that Rice’s position is not the same as Moises Caicedo’s, noting that Rice has more freedom to move into advanced areas.
Fabrizio Romano posted:
Enzo Maresca on Declan Rice: He’s not playing as a holding midfielder. He’s playing forward, he’s playing like Enzo. It’s a different position from Caicedo’s.
He is a fantastic player and he’s a complete player. He can do anything.
His comments came with a bit more context after SoftFootball shared Rice’s own thoughts on facing Caicedo again, a matchup he said he enjoys because of the different qualities both players bring.
The Chelsea boss also spoke about their past time together at West Ham, although he refused to claim any credit for Rice’s development.
He said the real shift happened when Manuel Pellegrini moved Rice permanently into midfield, and he believes Arteta deserves a lot of praise for polishing the player into what he has become today. Maresca described how he used to take Rice for extra sessions, and even then his quality was obvious, but the bigger transformation came later.
He also talked about the contrast between Rice and Caicedo. While Caicedo sits deeper and focuses more on recovering the ball, Rice’s role at Arsenal is more fluid. Maresca said the England international can defend, attack, break lines, and still cover ground like few others.
He ended by calling Rice a complete player, adding that his adaptability is one of the reasons Arsenal are six points clear. Chelsea will try to limit him on Sunday, but Maresca admitted it is never an easy task.
