Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is more deserving of the Premier League Player of the Season award than Phil Foden.
The Manchester City midfielder added the accolade to his Football Writers Association award at the weekend but, speaking about who should have been handed the honour, Merson insisted Rice has had more of an impact:
“Declan Rice has taken Arsenal to another level. I think Phil Foden has not taken them to another level. I think he has been outstanding, but Declan Rice has taken Arsenal to that other level, he’s just nearly got them to where Manchester City are.”
“I think he has been consistent the whole season through, I think, the whole season. Yeah, I mean, Phil Foden has been outstanding, of course, but I am just thinking outside the box, just what I see, you know, he has come in, Arsenal last season nearly got there, took them to another level, and I just can’t remember a game where he hasn’t been at least a seven or eight out of 10. Foden has been outstanding, but for me, I say Declan Rice.”
Arsenal have not moved up to “another level”
Merson is insisting that Rice has singlehandedly improved the Gunners since his arrival from West Ham last summer, but the stats paint a different picture.
Mikel Arteta’s side have only picked up 5 more points than last year and lost one fewer game. Their defence has improved significantly (conceding 14 fewer goals) but that could just as easily be attributed to William Saliba staying fit for the whole season.
Foden’s form for City has been spectacular
The attacking midfielder finished the campaign with 19 Premier League goals and 8 assists. Considering that he only managed to score 11 times last year, it’s been a massive improvement from him.
Foden has also come up with some really important goals over the course of the title race, including hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa, as well as braces in the Manchester derby and on the final day versus West Ham.