Declan Rice just proved Rodri wrong without saying a word

Declan Rice recognised that the modern football calendar is crazy, but unlike Rodri, he didn't complain about it. Instead, he embraced it, and said that players need to go through it to experience the feeling of winning the Premier League.

In his own words, Declan Rice said "It’s an obscene amount of games. The schedule was crazy, but what can we do about it? You can’t sit and complain. We have to just get on with it for the moments like I had winning that Premier League."

Simply 'getting on with it' is something that Rodri didn't do. Rodri was once the best midfielder in the world, and nobody can deny what he has achieved at the height of his game. He is a Premier League legend, by every definition of the word. But my word, he didn't half complain.

Back in 2024, Rodri said that players were close to striking due to the intense workload. "I think we are close to that [a player strike]. I think if you ask any player he will say the same. It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it's the general opinion of the players."

Except that Rodri was proven wrong.

Declan Rice has proven Rodri wrong in the best possible way

Declan Rice has proven that some players are simply built differently. Whereas many players recognise that the football calendar is hectic, some players get on with it. Rice is one of those that gets on with it; Rodri was one of those that complains.

Over the last few seasons, you can clearly see that Man City players are fatigued. It is why they have been beaten to the post by Liverpool and Arsenal in back-to-back seasons.

Mikel Arteta is also the first manager to beat Pep Guardiola in league standings in back-to-back seasons. The big caveat there being we are comparing Guardiola out of his prime to Arteta in his prime.

Rice continuously praises Arteta as the reason why he joined Arsenal. At the time, he could have just as easily joined the likes of Chelsea or even Man City.

It would appear that Arteta makes his players fall in love with football. To play at such a high intensity is a privilege, not a pressure. This has been the key difference between Arsenal and Man City over the last few seasons.

Rice does not have the summer off like he did last season. He is playing at an even higher intensity at the World Cup, with his set-piece brilliance finally being recognised by the neutral Premier League fan.

Arsenal fans only hope that he returns from the USA, Canada and Mexico in one piece, but we know that he is built differently enough to handle the pressure and, more importantly, improve as a player because of it.

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