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Former Premier League midfielder Anders Limparreckons Declan Rice is locked in a two-horse race with Arsenal team-mate Gabriel Magalhaes for the Ballon d'Or this season. He views Rice and Gabriel as the outstanding contenders, and suggests that Martin Odegaard would also be in the running had the Gunners captain not encountered injury problems.

Rice, who sealed a club-record £105million switch from West Ham to north London in the summer of 2023, swiftly established himself as a crucial figure in Mikel Arteta's squad. Gabriel, meanwhile, has established himself as one of Europe's finest defenders, someone Arteta depends upon enormously.

Speaking to Fruity King, the former Gunner Limpar explained: "The Ballon d'Or will be between two Arsenal players this year - Declan Rice, who is the engine, and Gabriel.

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"Martin Odegaard should be up there but he has struggled a little bit whereas Declan has been performing week in, week out. Gabriel has been a little injured, Declan has not.

"If Arsenal win everything, Declan would be my pick for the Ballon d'Or but it's too early to say that because we have to finish the season, we have the World Cup and we have the start of the Premier League again next season.

"But up to this point, it is Declan Rice. He is the true captain for me. He is the true engine of this Arsenal team. He makes the whole team run.

"You can see that they rely on him. You can see that he is the captain by example so Declan would be the front-runner just before Gabriel at the moment."

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Nevertheless, Rice has already made it evident that his focus is on securing trophies for the Gunners rather than pursuing individual honours like the Ballon d'Or.

"It's unreal, obviously," he previously told The Sun. "You want to be involved in those conversations.

"They're the right ones to be involved in. But also you see the recent Ballon d'Or winners, what they've won during their season.

"Hopefully we can have a successful season and I can be involved in those conversations. That would be amazing.

"If not, that's not something I am setting my eye on. I really want the team to do well first."

The duo will be in action on Wednesday night away to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16, with Arsenal amongst the front-runners to claim the trophy.

The north London outfit won all of their league-phase matches, topping the table with 24 points.