FANS have been left amazed by a stats comparison between Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo following their respective £100million-plus moves last summer.
Arsenal made West Ham captain Rice, 25, their record signing over a year ago when they splashed £105m on the defensive midfielder.
But Chelsea spent even more on Caicedo, 22, handing Brighton a Premier League record £115m fee.
Rice settled down quickly enough at Arsenal and eventually helped them to an impressive second-place finish.
While Caicedo struggled to settle under Mauricio Pochettino before showing signs of his talents in Chelsea’s final few games as the Blues finished sixth.
Now, stats have emerged showing Rice and Caicedo’s starts to the new season.
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Arsenal have made a good start again, winning three of their five matches while remaining unbeaten to bag 11 points.
But Chelsea have also looked strong with new boss Enzo Maresca, sitting one point off Arsenal with one defeat to champions Man City.
Rice and Caicedo have both been at the heart of matters since the campaign kicked off last month.
Yet the stats show that Caicedo is having a much better individual season so far than his Arsenal couterpart.
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For starters, the Ecuadorian has featured in all five of Chelsea’s league games so far, with Rice only making four appearances following his controversial red card against Brighton.
As a result, Caicedo has clocked 122 more minutes on the field.
And while neither man has scored a goal yet, Chelsea’s holder already has one assist to his name over Rice’s zero.
Caicedo is impressing in playmaking too, completing 252 passes to Rice’s 84.
Of Caicedo’s passes, 85 have been attacking forward passes compared to Rice’s 31.
Arsenal’s man is also beaten in the touches department with 142, while Caicedo’s 364 emphasises the difference in style between Maresca and Mikel Arteta.
And Rice also loses out in ALL of the vital defensive areas too.
He’s made just ONE tackle all season, while Caicedo has stopped an opponent 21 times.
The ex-Brighton man has also won more fouls with nine to Rice’s two.
In terms of duels won, Caicedo leads Rice 38-nine.
And he has also won six aerial duels to Rice’s four.
Finally, Caicedo has completed six clearances over Rice’s five.
While he has also made nine interceptions to Rice’s three.
And fans were amazed at seeing the huge gulf in key numbers.
One said: “You know what’s most crazy? One tackle made in four games being a DM.”
Another declared: “Caicedo has always been clear.”
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One noted: “They’re both great players and both will have very good seasons.”
Another added: “I prefer not to speak.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk