Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has praised Declan Rice as ‘exceptional’ amid strong interest from Arsenal.
Arsenal play once again tonight as they meet London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
City are back in action on Wednesday night with West Ham United visiting the Etihad Stadium.
City now have the edge in the Premier League title race but Guardiola isn’t taking West Ham lightly.
Pep Guardiola hails Declan Rice
Guardiola has been speaking to City’s official website ahead of facing David Moyes’ Hammers.
The Spaniard claims that the ‘quality is there’ in the West Ham squad and picked out three players for praise.
Guardiola noted the attacking threat from Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen before turning his attention to midfielder Declan Rice.
Guardiola called Rice ‘exceptional’, clearly rating him incredibly highly.
Rice is likely to start in midfield for West Ham, in what should be his final trip to the Etihad Stadium as a Hammers player.
A summer exit is widely expected for Rice and he may end up becoming a very direct rival to Guardiola moving forward.
Rice expected to sign for Arsenal this summer
Whilst a host of Premier League clubs are keen on Rice, it’s Arsenal who appear to be leading the race.
The Guardian claimed in March that a move to North London is ‘likely’ to happen for Rice this summer.
TalkSPORT added in April that Rice is excited by Arsenal’s interest and he would like to join the Gunners.
A deal worth more than £80million appears to be in the pipeline, giving Arsenal a top-quality midfielder who can play in a couple of different roles.
Arsenal and City could fight for the title again moving forward, and Guardiola will be very wary of Rice’s quality.
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