Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has disagreed with a claim that Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is better technically than his former Reds teammate Steven Gerrard.
While the Sky Sports pundit believes that the England international is much better than he is given credit for on the ball, he insists he will never be as good as Gerrard on the ball.
An Arsenal fan on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) had claimed that Bukayo Saka and Rice are better than David Beckham and Gerrard, respectively, but Carragher was having none of it, quickly taking to X to make his case.
Rice is much better than he’s given credit for on the ball but he will never be as good as Gerrard on the ball.
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) July 3, 2024
England have had as good if not better teams in the past, but GS has created a club mentality in the squad that those didn’t!
Rice has played more offensively since joining Arsenal, contributing to 16 goals across all competitions at the end of his debut season at the North London club.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has given the 25-year-old the license to contribute more in the final third having mostly played mainly as a pure defensive midfielder while at West Ham United, and it has yielded much-needed results.
Rice is a solid midfielder but he is not currently better technically and on the ball than Gerrard was.
The Liverpool legend ended his Premier League career with 121 goals and 97 assists in 504 games, excelling in his roles as an attacking and defensive midfielder.
He bagged 186 goals and 154 assists in 710 games for Liverpool and has established himself as a true legend of the game.
Rice is on his way to attaining such status with Arsenal and England, but he is not there right now.
He has yet to reach the peak of his career but has the potential to become the best player in his position on the planet and would be leaving the game as one of the best to have ever graced it.
Carragher claiming Rice will never be as good as Gerrard on the ball is far from it as we have not seen the best of him yet, and the Arsenal star will keep pushing himself to ensure he wins it all at club and country level.