Much has been made of the recent debate about who is the best midfielder plying their trade in the Premier League at the moment. Recently, Manchester United hero Paul Scholes admitted that he believes Sandro Tonali trumps both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo – but a former teammate of his, Roy Keane, disagrees with his take.
In a solid position to judge the current roster of engine room patrollers in England's top flight thanks to his trophy cabinet and status in the football echo chamber, Scholes made his feelings known on The Overlap: "I still don't class Moises Caicedo as an all-round midfield player. I know he scored a great goal and was brilliant the other day.
"Alexis Mac Allister was absolutely brilliant last season, he controlled a lot of games and I think Liverpool are missing that at the moment. I love Sandro Tonali as well. He's been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point."
Sandro Tonali applauding the Newcastle United supporters
He then went on to reason why he believes Tonali, formerly of AC Milan's celebrated academy ranks, is better than Arsenal talisman Rice. "I think he's better than Rice. I really like Rice, don't get me wrong, I think he's got everything. Sometimes he takes a few too many touches of the ball and tries to look a bit more stylish than necessary."
Keane Names The Best Midfielder in the Premier League After Scholes' Admission
roy keane pundit
Elsewhere, following Caicedo's wonderstrike in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, Gary Neville claimed the Ecuadorian was "a level above Rice" as the defender-turned-pundit gave his two pence on the evergrowing debate. In truth, England's primary division is littered with very talented central midfielders and there is very little to separate the three in question: Caicedo, Rice and Tonali.
And, as is normal in the world of football, not everybody thinks in the same way – and that's evidenced by Keane's take on the argument. A hard-hitting midfielder at the apex of his powers for Manchester United, the Irishman has gone against two of his former teammates to suggest that Rice – who is widely regarded as one of the best English footballers on the planet – is the best of the aforementioned triumvirate.
"I'd go with Rice every day of the week. That package. He's got a little bit extra on all the other parts on Caicedo. I'd go with Rice."
The emphatic answer on that occasion was Rice, as both Jill Scott and Ian Wright, perhaps unsurprisingly given his affinity to Arsenal, also singled out the London-born 26-year-old. Signed for big bucks in the summer of 2023, the 69-cap England international has come on leaps and bounds since his cross-London switch.
Primarily utilised to screen in front of the Arsenal defence, it's clear that his best attributes serve him better further up the pitch – when he acts as a floating No.8 rather than a set-in-position No.6 – and Martin Zubimendi's arrival over the summer has certainly helped in that regard.
People tend to scoff at the fact that West Ham United were given £105 million for his services two years ago, but should Arsenal push on, shake off their nearlymen status and win a few Premier League titles, it'll be money well spent in the eyes of Mikel Arteta and his entourage.
At the time of writing, he's chalked up north of 100 appearances – 113, to be precise – under the stewardship of the Spanish tactician, and that's only poised to rise if he stays put and remains free of serious injury. His captaincy traits also make him a leading candidate to replace Martin Odegaard as club skipper in a few years time too.