Manchester City are Premier League champions once again – and former Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs selected who he would pick first out of Phil Foden and Rodri.
The two players were on target in the final game against West Ham United on Sunday.
Foden scored a brace in the first-half, with his first goal especially amazing. The 23-year-old thumped an effort home from the edge of the box to settle any nerves early on.
He then followed that up with a lovely cultured finish from a Jeremy Doku cross.
After Mohammed Kudus got one back for West Ham, Rodri then popped up with a goal in the second-half to kill the game.
Undoubtedly, these two players have been City’s standout performers in 2023/24.
In Kieran Gibbs’ mind though, there is a clear winner for who he’d pick first…
Kieran Gibbs makes selection between Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Rodri
Foden was recently named the Premier League Player of the Season, as well as the FWA Player of the Season. He is also the favourite to win the equivalent PFA award.
The England international has had the season of his life, scoring 27 goals and making 11 assists in 52 appearances. And he has the chance to add to those tallies in the final game against Manchester United in the FA Cup final this weekend.
Foden has simply come of age, and has developed into the world-class player many people thought he would during his early years at the club when he was showing so much promise.
But Kieran Gibbs would actually pick Rodri ahead of Foden.
In a video for ESPN FC, he was asked which of the two he would choose first in ‘playground pick-up game’.
He said: “Rodri. Look at his record, he has everything. He’s big, he’s strong, he reads the game unbelievably well. His anticipation. His way of getting the team behind him. Communication with his teammates.
“I’ve been super impressed with the signing of Rodri.”
Rodri the revelation
Rodri is easily one of the best players in the world and at this point, some make the case for him to be the outright best. Purely for the fact he seems to do absolutely everything on a football pitch.
He may be a top defensive midfielder, but in 2023/24 we have seen a new side to the Spaniard, who has chipped in with nine goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances.
Those are some ridiculous numbers for a player who mostly sits in front of the defence dictating the tempo of games. It was a travesty that he did not make the shortlist for Premier League Player of the Season alongside Foden and Erling Haaland.
City paid £63 million for Rodri which was a big fee at the time. But the star is probably worth around three times that now, and the former Atletico Madrid man is only now just coming into his peak years.
