‘Brilliant’… Robbie Savage says Arsenal have a player who’s been better than Mo Salah for 12 months now

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Robbie Savage has had a go at naming his three best players of 2023 as the year came to an end.

Declan Rice earned a place on the podium in his rankings alongside both Rodri and Erling Haaland.

The Arsenal midfielder has been excellent over the past 12 months, winning the Europa Conference League with West Ham before becoming arguably the most important player in Mikel Arteta’s side.

Speaking on BBC 606, Savage named Rice as his third best player of the year, much to the bemusement of his co-host, Chris Sutton, who made the case for Mohamed Salah.

Rice the third best player of the year

Savage shared his verdict on the Arsenal star and his performances over the past 12 months.

“I’ve got Rodri as number one, Erling Haaland as number two and then number three I went Declan Rice. Massive pricetag, brilliant season for West Ham, won a European trophy, and he’s been brilliant at Arsenal,” Savage said.

“You know what, I get that, but no Mo Salah?” Sutton said.

What a year

Whether or not you think that Rice has been better than Salah over the past 12 months is up for debate – in our view, the Egyptian edges that argument, but you can’t deny it’s been an incredible year for Rice.

He left West Ham in the best way possible, delivering major silverware in his final game for the club before embarking on a new adventure in north London.

Rice has taken to life at Arsenal like a duck to water, and while his form has dipped over the past month or so, he’s still been one of the Gunners’ best players this season.

Rice has had a fantastic year, and he’s certainly been one of the best in the Premier League over the past 12 months.