Chelsea's Moises Caicedo and Enzo Maresca talk up 'special' Arsenal star

Moises Caicedo and Enzo Maresca are preparing to face Declan Rice on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)

Chelsea take on Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday and they expect a tough test in midfield against ‘special’ and ‘complete’ Declan Rice .

The second-placed Blues host the top of the table Gunners at Stamford Bridge in the pick of the weekend fixtures.

Both enjoyed brilliant Champions League wins in midweek, with Chelsea beating Barcelona and Arsenal downing Bayern Munich.

There is little doubt that Mikel Arteta’s team is one of the very best in world football and Rice has come in for specific praise from Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and star midfielder Moises Caicedo.

Rice and Caicedo are two of the standout midfielders in the Premier League and the Ecuadorian is a big fan of the England international’s work.

‘Declan, everybody knows how good he is. It will be a great battle, me and him,’ the 24-year-old told the Daily Mail . ‘It’s very nice, very special and like he said, we play in different positions.

‘People compare him and myself but I’m so happy he’s doing really well. I enjoy watching him play because he’s so good.

Declan Rice has been extremely reliable for Arsenal since his 2023 move (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I want to play against the best defensive and attacking midfielders in the world and he’s one of them. I’m waiting. It’s nice that people compare us, but we are not fighting. He wants to do well. I’m going to fight. I’m ready. Everybody is ready. I’m looking forward to it.’

Maresca has an insight into Rice’s progression as the Italian was a coach at West Ham in 2018-19 under Manuel Pellegrini.

The Arsenal man was coming through the ranks with the Hammers at that time, becoming a regular in the first team at that early stage of his career.

Comparing working with Caicedo and Rice, Maresca said: ‘It was a little bit different time when I was at West Ham . He was younger.

Rice made 245 first team appearances for West Ham (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I spent many extra sessions with Declan, one-v-one, and you could see that he was already very good.

‘He was with second-team players as a central defender. Manuel Pellegrini decided to play him in the first team as a midfielder but [he] was different age compared to Moises.

‘But you could see that he was already very, very good.’

Enzo Maresca worked with Rice as a young player at West Ham (Picture: Getty Images)

Asked if he can be credited for Rice moving into midfield and starring in his current role, the Blues boss said: ‘No, no, no. Pellegrini decided to play [him in midfield].