Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice face off in battle of Europe's best midfielders as Chelsea host Arsenal - The Radar

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:

? Rice's attacking evolution at Arsenal
? Caicedo's ball-winning and press resistance
? A player to watch this weekend

Caicedo or Rice? An epic midfield battle

Sunday's meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal, live on Sky Sports, pits the Premier League's top two against each other. It is also battle between its two best midfielders. Moises Caicedo versus Declan Rice is not so much a subplot as a box-office attraction in itself.

Events in midweek suggested the pair might in fact be the best in Europe, never mind the Premier League. Twenty-four hours after Caicedo dominated Barcelona's midfield at Stamford Bridge, Declan Rice did something similar to Bayern Munich's at the Emirates Stadium. Two Champions League heavyweights overpowered.

Those midweek performances added yet another parallel between two players whose fates have been intertwined since they joined their respective clubs a month apart in 2023 for fees of over £100m.

It is fair to say the expense has been justified in both cases.

In another life, they might even be turning out on the opposite sides on Sunday. Caicedo was once a transfer target for Arsenal. Rice came through Chelsea's academy before his move to West Ham.

But there are differences between them too, most notably in terms of their positions. "He's a full-blown No 6 while I'm more of a box-to-box No 8," Rice said to Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher on Wednesday.

Rice's role continues to evolve in ways few anticipated when he joined Arsenal. Having transitioned from No 6 to left-sided No 8 across his first two seasons, he now operates somewhere between the two, or, to put it more accurately, everywhere between the two, as part of a midfield pivot with Martin Zubimendi.

"He is becoming a total player," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta earlier this month. "A total player has to do as many things as possible and he has the capacity to do that."

The game against Bayern Munich, in which he was named man of the match, was just the latest example of that completeness. Rice was everywhere, at times bursting beyond Bayern's last line; at others tracking back to win challenges, one of which, on former Spurs striker Harry Kane late in the game, was celebrated like a goal.

His set-piece delivery has been a revelation. Only a fortnight ago he was named among the Puskas award nominees for the second of his spectacular free-kicks against Real Madrid in April. But his attacking threat is not limited to dead-ball situations. Pushing him further forward has brought Arsenal rich rewards.

His total of 31 goals Premier League goals and assists across the last three seasons is roughly three times as high as Caicedo's. It is also the fourth-most for Arsenal, behind only Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz in the same time-frame.

He has become an invaluable attacking weapon.

Caicedo, of course, operates further away from goal than Rice. But he is more than capable of contributing offensively too. With three Premier League goals this season, including stunning strikes from distance against Liverpool and Brentford, he has already beaten his total for the previous two campaigns combined.

Like Rice, he offers the potential for flexibility. Before becoming established as Brighton's No 6 under Roberto De Zerbi, he was used as a No 8 by Graham Potter. Back at his boyhood club Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, the latter is actually seen as his best role.

"Moises had a bigger impact in the game, and helped the team more, as a No 8, because he had the ability to score, the last pass, he was able to get into the box, and he was very aggressive in the first pressure," the club's former head coach, Miguel Angel Ramirez, said in conversation with Sky Sports.

Those attributes may open up possibilities similar to those exploited by Arsenal with Rice in the future. But right now he is serving Enzo Maresca as Chelsea's No 6, where his ball-winning has few rivals.

Caicedo marries outstanding physicality with a rare level of tactical awareness, ensuring he is almost always well-positioned to smother opposition attacks and snuff out counters. He has made the most interceptions in the Premier League this season. He also ranks highly for tackles and possessions won in the middle third.

He plays an important role in constructing Chelsea's attacks as well as spoiling those of the opposition. His display against Barcelona, when he completed 69 of his 73 passes, giving him a success rate of 94.5 per cent, highlighted his composure and quality on the ball.

Caicedo is not as expansive as Rice in his passing. Rice makes nearly twice as many long passes on average. But the Ecuador international comes out on top, as the best in the Premier League, when it comes to retaining possession under pressure, although that is yet another area in which both players excel, even in different positions.

Rice may well be the player applying the pressure on Caicedo at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and vice-versa, as two players seemingly at the absolute peak of their powers vie for superiority in a midfield battle which might ultimately decide the outcome of the game.

Is Anderson the next £100m midfielder?

There is another Premier League midfielder who might soon be rivalling Caicedo and Rice in Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson.

The 23-year-old, a £35m signing from Newcastle last year, is already being billed as a potential £100m player and it is easy to see why.

Anderson has excelled even in the context of a fraught season for Forest, who sit a point above the relegation zone having changed their manager twice. They would be worse off without him.

Anderson, who has also established himself at international level with England this season, is doing all the things an elite central midfielder should do, in possession and out of it, and showing the kind of profile the top clubs are willing to spend big on.

Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on

Morgan Rogers is dominating the discourse around Aston Villa but don't overlook the underrated importance of Boubacar Kamara.

Unai Emery's side have a win rate of 64 per cent with him starting this season compared to 33 per cent without him. Expect him to be quietly crucial, again, when they face Wolves on Sunday.

Live Radar: What's on Sky this weekend?

Saturday brings a double-header, as Everton face Newcastle at 5.30pm before Tottenham's meeting with Fulham at 8pm. Watch live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm.

It's a multi-view extravaganza on Sunday, with Aston Villa vs Wolves, Nottingham Forest vs Brighton and West Ham vs Liverpool to be shown on Sky Sports at 2.05pm.

Then it's the big one: Chelsea's meeting with Arsenal is available to watch on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 4pm ahead of the 4.30pm kick-off.

Read the last Radar column

The Radar household was struck by illness last week and the column was an unfortunate casualty. The last one, published before the international break, asked whether Liverpool could stop Erling Haaland. Narrator's voice: they could not stop Erling Haaland.

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