Micah Richards calls out Gary Lineker over what he said about Declan Rice last week

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Micah Richards and Gary Lineker have continued their debate over Arsenal star Declan Rice and Manchester City ace Rodri.

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Lineker does not appear to have changed his mind on Rice.

So, what has been said about Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice now? Let’s take a look.

Declan Rice vs Rodri debate

Declan Rice and Rodri are two of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. The former is a star for Arsenal, and the latter is one of the most important players for Manchester City.

Both Rice and Rodri are defensive midfielders, and there is a debate about who the better player is.

Rice, 24, joined Arsenal from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 and has transformed the Gunners.

Rodri, 27, is so good that City really miss the Spain international when he does not play and do not tend to win matches.

Speaking on The Rest is Football last week, former City star Micah Richards picked Rodri over Rice.

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Lineker noted: “It’s a tough call. Rice is everywhere, Rodri is brilliant as well. But I think the way Rice has gone straight into things at Arsenal and become one of the most important players.

“He covers distance, runs the lines, I think Rodri overall would probably get a few more goals. But there are certain similarities, they both keep the ball very well. They are both terrific players, that’s for sure.”

Gary Lineker responds to Micah Richards

The two pundits have continued the debate this week as well. Arsenal lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Villa Park in the Premier League this past weekend. City beat Luton Town 2-1 away from home.

Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast: “How good is he (Rodri)? How good is he? We had the question, didn’t we, when we said Rodri or Rice? Come on, come on, guys, are you still saying? Rice is very good, outstanding.”

Lineker responded: “I know, absolutely we should change our mind by the performance of a player against Luton, no disrespect to Luton.”

Lineker was obviously being sarcastic in his response to Richards, but it is a very good and interesting debate to have.

In my view, Rodri is better than Rice right now. After all, the Spain international has been doing it in the UEFA Champions League as well. The England international needs to show that he can play consistently well against the truly ‘elite’ teams in Europe.

Having said that, I should point out that Rice is 24 now. He is younger than Rodri and could eventually become better than him in the coming years.