Moises Caicedo says he enjoys watching Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice play | OneFootball

Arsenal take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash, and many believe the individual battle between Gunners midfielder Declan Rice and his Blues counterpart Moises Caicedo could heavily influence the result of the game.

The Arsenal midfielder is widely regarded as the best in his position right now following his impressive start to 2025-26 for the Emirates Stadium club.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta wanted Caicedo at the North London club while the Ecuador international was at Brighton & Hove Albion.

However, the move fell through and the Chelsea star has established himself at the Stamford Bridge club after initially struggling.

He is now looking forward to playing Arsenal again and has revealed that he enjoys watching Rice in action.

“Declan, everybody knows how good he is,” Caicedo told the Daily Mail.

“It will be a great battle, me and him. It’s very nice, very special and like he said, we play in different positions.

“People compare him and myself but I’m so happy he’s doing really well. I enjoy watching him play because he’s so good. I want to play against the best defensive and attacking midfielders in the world and he’s one of them. I’m waiting. It’s nice that people compare us, but we are not fighting. He wants to do well. I’m going to fight. I’m ready. Everybody is ready. I’m looking forward to it.”

Both clubs are in fine form heading into the derby after Chelsea secured a 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday before Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 3-1 the next day.

The result will have a huge say on the title race as the Gunners can establish a seven-point lead at the top of the table with a win.

A defeat for Arsenal will see Chelsea return to second and cut the gap between them and the league leaders to just three points.