Forget Rice vs Caicedo, this is the battle that will decide Arsenal vs Chelsea

Team Moises or Team Declan? For weeks, if not months, it feels like every pundit, manager and fan has had to pledge their loyalty to one of the Premier League’s two outstanding central midfielders.

It might come as some relief, therefore, that after all the never-ending talk, the two will finally do battle again, this time in the middle of the Stamford Bridge pitch when Chelsea host Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

After a sluggish start to the campaign, Enzo Maresca’s side have now lost just one of their last eleven games in all competition and sit in second place in the league, just six points behind the Gunners.

And with Liverpool’s inexplicable run of form only worsening, and Manchester City still consistently inconsistent, there is a growing school of thought that Chelsea could prove one of the few teams capable of keeping pace with the current runaway leaders.

The duel between Caicedo and Rice will be rightly placed under the microscope, and any path to victory for Chelsea will surely involve Caicedo getting the better of his Arsenal counterpart.

But there is a certain irony that after all the talk, a more intriguing battle elsewhere on the pitch could prove the key battle in deciding the fate of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash.

A large part of Arsenal’s open-play creativity this season has been borne out of their intelligent use of rotations in midfield and attacking areas to overload wide areas and isolate opposition players.

It was something which the Gunners did to great effect to break down Tottenham’s deep, low block in last weekend’s north London derby, and again in midweek in their statement victory over Bayern Munich.

And while every player carries a threat in this system, it is still Bukayo Saka who represents the most threatening cog in Arsenal’s attacking machine.

Saka has long been an indispensable part of Arteta’s side since his first-team breakthrough, and already has six goals in all competitions this season. But as his importance and profile in this Arsenal side grow season on season, so too does the attention that he receives from their opposition. 

Against Tottenham, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and even Wilson Odobert, at times, were all at times trying to mark Saka when he received the ball. 

And versus Bayern, Saka found himself constantly stalked by Konrad Laimer at left-back, while there were times when even Harry Kane dropped deep into his own half to ensure his England teammate couldn’t get on the ball freely.

But even when faced with this greater attention, Saka’s threat and ability to create chances has still maintained. 

Against Vincent Kompany’s side, he had five touches in the Bayern box and created four chances, the most of any Arsenal player, even though he was withdrawn with over 20 minutes still on the clock.

Saka eventually got the better of Laimer on Wednesday, just as he did Udogie the previous weekend, but Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge now pits the 24-year-old up against Marc Cucurella, perhaps the Premier League’s most in-form full-back alongside Timber.

The Spaniard has achieved cult-hero status around Stamford Bridge for his performances over the last two seasons, and produced his latest heroic display in midweek against Barcelona’s latest generation talent, Lamine Yamal.

Yamal has managed to make even the best defenders look foolish, and looked threatening when receiving the ball in the opening stages, but he soon found himself out of ideas up against Cucurella, who snapped at his opponent’s heels all evening and restricted the teenager to just one shot on goal.

Cucurella’s performance was lauded from all quarters, with former Chelsea captain John Terry quick to label the defender as one of the world’s best full-backs.

‘He is everything I want to see in a Chelsea player at the moment,’ he added. ‘Aggression, great one vs one, a threat going forwards, the threat he shows in every aspect of his game is what I love about him as a player.’

And Maresca was certainly pleased too with his full-back’s performance, adding: ‘Since I came to the club, his level has been high, not only his defending but also as part of our play with the ball. Cucu always gives us an advantage, and we are delighted with him.’

Both Cucurella and Saka are players whose excellence is derived from their relentless consistency, and both will expect the very best version of the other when they line up on Sunday in south west London.

Rice and Caicedo will take the headlines, but whoever comes out on top in the battle down Arsenal’s right may ultimately play the most pivotal role in deciding the fate of this table-topping clash.

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