Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Declan Rice and revealed that the English midfielder turned down a move to the Etihad Stadium in the summer.
With just one point separating Manchester City from Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, this season is set to finish with a three-horse race for the first time in years.
With City looking to make history by winning four Premier League titles in a row, they will be well aware of how important Sunday’s clash with the Gunners really is.
After losing to Mikel Arteta’s side twice already this season, Guardiola will no doubt be eager to claw the title race back into his hands.
But unlike last season, Arsenal have shown that they are built for the big games with summer signing Rice a huge reason why.
The England midfielder was admired by both clubs last summer but after a brief bidding war, decided to make the move to North London.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s titanic clash, Guardiola hailed Rice and revealed that he had rejected the move to Manchester.
“Sometimes here we have many players we wanted and they didn’t decide to join us,” he said via the Mirror.
“He made his decision, a good one, and good luck. All the teams in the Premier League would have signed Declan Rice.”
Liverpool will be keeping a firm eye on the fixture after their early clash against Brighton as a win will put them at the top of the table.
