The Rodri vs Rice debate

It's always interesting to have two players who are so alike playing for two clubs who are fighting for the same title. Arsenal and City alike both have their own respective world-class defensive midfielders, both playing a vital role in each other's squads. Let's take a look into how the two players compare and I will lay out the facts for you to decide who I think is the better player. In this video, we'll look at how their basic stats compare to each other's in their careers, how their stats this season compare to each other's. I'll also give my personal unbiased opinion of who I think is the better number six. But before we do so, let's look at their basic player profiles. Declan Rice was born on January the 14th, 1999 and is 25 years old. Declan Rice comes from South West London. He began his football career in the youth system of Chelsea before moving to West Ham United's Youth Academy at the age of 14. He made his first team debut for West Ham in May 2017 and has since become a prominent figure in both their squad and the English national team. Now, he plays a key role at Arsenal, being their number six and is highly influential in Arsenal's play style. Rodri, whose full name is Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante, was born on June 22nd, 1996, making him 27 years old. Rodri is from Madrid, Spain. He started his football career at the Youth Academy of Villarreal. He then moved to the senior team of Villarreal before joining Atletico Madrid in 2018. In 2019, Rodri signed with Man City, an integral part of their midfield. Now, let's look at both their all-time basic stats and their individual trophy cabinets. Declan Rice has played 317 games in his career, scoring 21 goals and assisting 21 goals. In his career, he's averaged a goal every 1,272 minutes. Rodri, on the other hand, has played 416 games, scored 31 goals and assisted 33. And he has a goal frequency of a goal every 1,021 minutes. Declan Rice only has two trophies to his name, the Conference League winner and the English Super Cup winner, whereas Rodri has many trophies. One Champions League, three Premier Leagues, one FIFA World Cup winner, two UEFA Super Cups, one UEFA Nations League, one FA Cup, two English League Cups, one English Super Cup and a European U19 champion for Spain. I think it's fair to say that Rodri wins on the all-time trophies department. Now, let's take a look at their stats from this season and really get a see of who has been the greater player this season, which is all that matters. Let's take a look at their attacking stats this season. Declan Rice has played 28 games, starting all 28. He's scored 6 goals and has an xG of 2.2, with a scoring frequency of 1 in every 400 minutes, whereas Rodri has played 25 and started those 25, scoring the same amount of goals, with an xG of 3.25, greater than Rice's, a scoring frequency of a goal in every 362 minutes, scoring 0.2 goals per game. Rodri does average more shots per game than Rice, whereas Rice has the bigger goal conversion rate. That's all there really is to say on the attacking front, as they're not really the most attacking players, although they both do offer, respectively, some attacking threat for their individual teams. In the attacking side of things, I would say Rodri just edges it. Now, let's have a look at their defending stats. Again, I think Rodri wins in this department, although Rice does average more interceptions per game. Rodri has more tackles per game, wins possession more, and more importantly, has more ball recovery. This, I think, is the most important part of any player's defensive game. That's why I think Rodri wins again in this department. Rice, just lacking. Let's see what they can do in the passing department, as we do have to remember, they're both midfielders. In my opinion, Rodri is completely clear of Rice, and I don't even think there's a conversation for it. Granted, Rice is a great player, and he's done absolutely brilliant things in the last few years, but Rodri is just clear. He's won so many more trophies, and the stats even back him up. He is just the perfect defensive midfielder, and works amazingly well for City. Anyway, thanks for watching this video, and that's just my opinion. Please let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree. Who's better, Rice or Rodri? See ya.