More than two years down the line, these market machinations will feel like a distant memory to the two players. Rice and Caicedo are fully established as the midfield heartbeats of their teams, with both proving to be value for money despite the extraordinary fees it took to sign them.
Both clubs, inevitably, will regard their man as the better player. Both sets of fans, too, feel extremely passionate about the matter. For many people, Chelsea versus Arsenal on Sunday is as much about Caicedo versus Rice – the clash of the £100m midfield titans – as it is about the three points.
Rice’s publicly stated view is that a direct comparison between him and Caicedo is not entirely fair. Speaking to CBS in midweek, after his sensational performance against Bayern Munich, he said: “I have a lot of respect for Moisés. I played against him since his Brighton days, since I was at West Ham. I voted him last year in my PFA team of the year. I thought he was outstanding and he has started this year incredibly well.
“There are so many comparisons between us but we are playing different positions. He’s a full-blown six and I’m a box-to-box eight. Sunday is going to be an interesting game but the most important thing is that I have a lot of respect for him as a player. It’s an exciting battle between us and it’s one that I’ll be ready for.”
Comparisons will still be made, though, and it is fascinating to examine which player excels more in each area of the game. Defensively (perhaps as a consequence of his deeper positioning) it is Caicedo who dominates: he averages five tackles and interceptions per game this season, compared with Rice’s 2.4. In the Premier League, Caicedo has made more interceptions (26) than any other player.
In passing and ball-carrying, however, Rice offers more than Caicedo. The Arsenal midfielder is better at driving forward in possession and finding his team-mates with progressive passes. Rice averages 2.57 progressive carries (a run that moves the ball at least 10 yards forward) compared with Caicedo’s 0.67. As the Premier League’s finest set-piece taker, Rice also offers a dead-ball threat that Caicedo cannot match.
As goalscorers, Rice has historically had the upper edge: last season, he scored nine goals to Caicedo’s two. But so far this season, Caicedo has already struck four goals in all competitions, compared with Rice’s two.
