Following Sunday’s duel at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal and England player Declan Rice heaped admiration on Manchester City midfielder Rodri.

Manchester City and Arsenal exchanged blows in a frantic goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with both losing ground to Liverpool in the Premier League title chase.

Successive draws against Liverpool and Arsenal have had a significant influence on Manchester City’s chances of capturing a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title, with the Sky Blues sitting third in the table and three points behind Liverpool with nine games remaining.

City have failed to beat Arsenal three times this season, and Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta could face each other twice more this season, with both English teams potentially meeting in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Manchester City lost both the FA Community Shield and their encounter at the Emirates Stadium in October, and they have yet to score in either Premier League game since the weekend’s draw.

Declan Rice has appeared in all three games for Arsenal, after Manchester City competed with Arsenal for the England midfielder’s contract last summer in a big bidding war for the former West Ham captain.

The Gunners paid £105 million for the Englishman, beating the Blues’ £90 million offer to the Hammers.

Rice might have faced competition from Rodri at the Etihad Stadium, despite Guardiola’s ambitions to deploy the 25-year-old in a more advanced role following Ilkay Gundogan’s departure.

Following Sunday’s match, the Arsenal midfielder lauded the Spaniard, describing the Manchester City player as “a monster.”

“Do you love him?” “He’s a monster,” Rice said.

“When you speak to the Manchester City players in England, they remark that when Rodri is not playing, they see a difference in themselves. You can see it, too.

Rodri is currently on a gigantic unbeaten streak of over 60 games, having not lost a Manchester City match since a 0-1 setback to Tottenham in February 2023.

The midfielder scored the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul last June and has won ten trophies with City since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2019.