Micah Richards has defended Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target Adrien Rabiot by stating that he has been ‘one of the players’ of the 2022 Qatar World Cup for France, as he told BBC’s Match of the Day.
The former right-back shared how Ligue 1, where Rabiot grew up in the colours of PSG, is deemed the ‘farmers league’, yet someone like the 27-year-old, who now plays for Juventus, is thriving on football’s biggest stage.
Rabiot has been a regular for France at the Qatar World Cup, with a number of injuries in the midfield pushing him forward in the pecking order.
But the tournament ended in the biggest of heartaches for the player because France suffered penalty shootout heartache to Argentina in one of the greatest-ever games in history on Sunday in the World Cup final.
Nonetheless, prior to all of that, Richards spoke highly about Rabiot, who could be Premier League-bound during the January transfer window.
“Sometimes when we are in England, we talk about the Premier League being the best league,” said Richards.
“We call the French league the farmers league. But look at Rabiot, he has been one of the players of the tournament.”
ARSENAL AND CHELSEA INTEREST IN RABIOT
Mikel Arteta’s side are sitting at the top of the Premier League, and if they are to maintain that spot, then they need to refresh their team and add much-needed depth next month.
A player of Rabiot’s ilk and experience would serve them well, with the hard-hitting midfielder wanted by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
He has always divided opinion as a player because it has always felt that he can produce a lot more than he does, but as of right now, he is playing the best football of his career.
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