Micah Richards at loggerheads with Paul Scholes as he names 'one of the best in the world’

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Micah Richards has claimed that Arsenal ace Declan Rice has become "one of the best in world football" - at a time when Paul Scholes is getting criticised for not naming the England star among the elite midfielders.

The Gunners maintained top spot at the weekend as they saw off Burnley with Rice, who scored at Turf Moor, again crucial to everything positive they did. The ex-West Ham midfielder remains their club-record signing and continues to pay back his mammoth fee with stellar performances.

Rice has morphed into a complete midfielder, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet for Arsenal and England with Richards claiming he's taken his game to another level since heading to the Emirates.

The 26-year-old has stood up on the biggest occasions, doing so with a stunning brace against Real Madrid last term, as the midfielder now adds goals to his game and Richards delivered the highest praise.

He said on The Rest is Football podcast : "I don’t like singling players out because it’s a team effort – and I have to give Mikel Arteta credit for building that – but I have to identify Declan Rice .

"He’s taken his game to the next level now where you’re taking about one of the best in world football. We saw at West Ham a very good player and I remember some pundits criticised him a little bit in terms of what he is and what’s his best position but he’s everything in that midfield."

Richards' opinion is universally shared though with Scholes, regarded as one of the great Premier League midfielders, copping flack for claiming that the Arsenal ace is "not my type of midfield player." His opinion emerged when asked to pick the best in the world in that position.

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The ex-Manchester United star wasn't shy in expressing where he thought Rice could improve, suggesting he should be less about the optics, and claiming that Newcastle's Sandro Tonali is more up his street.

"I really like Rice, don't get me wrong, I think he's got everything," he said recently. "Sometimes he takes a few too many touches of the ball and tries to look a bit more stylish than necessary. He can do everything, but I don't think he does it enough. I prefer Tonali, but they're both good players."

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