Roy Hodgson suggests Arsenal have one of the best players in the world in their squad

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Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has been full of compliments for Arsenal’s Declan Rice ahead of the two sides meeting tonight.

Speaking via the Irish Examiner, Hodgson has praised Rice as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Hodgson shared that he’s followed Rice’s progress over the years and was first alerted to his talent by former Hammer James Tomkins.

Hodgson said: “He’s done his apprenticeship really, coming through the ranks.

“He’s done his years at West Ham, each year getting better, and in the end becomes an international and clubs are (thinking) ‘who can I get who’s the best at his particular job for this role?’

“Declan Rice’s name is always going to be right up there on the top of the list, as was Bellingham of course at Real Madrid.”

Although it’s unusual to see the Palace manager talking up Rice ahead of tonight’s game, it’s not a surprise that he’s spotted his progress.

Rice has already looked exceptional in an Arsenal shirt, and he’ll hope to continue that in his trip to Hodgson’s Palace.

Hodgson full of praise for Arsenal’s Rice ahead of their game tonight

Arsenal’s trip to Selhurst Park on the opening night of last season was a real indicator that they had turned a corner.

William Saliba looked imperious on his league debut, as did Oleksander Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.

And whilst the latter is missing tonight, it does now seem that Zinchenko has a good chance of being fit. 

Although Hodgson will have a focus on Arsenal’s stars such as Zinchenko and Rice, he will surely believe his Palace side can get a result.

Roy’s return to the club has been an excellent one and they started the season in similar form to last with an impressive win against Sheffield United.

It’s a big test for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal tonight, and he’ll be hoping that his side can match the run of wins that started last campaign.