Graeme Souness has once again harshly criticized Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, believing he plays "too deep" and might be better suited to playing as a defender.
Since his £105 million move to the Emirates Stadium in 2023, Rice has become a key player for Arsenal and England, but Souness still doesn't believe the 27-year-old possesses the abilities required of a top central midfielder.
Last season, the Arsenal star helped the team win their first Premier League title in 22 years, and in the summer he helped England reach the World Cup semi-finals. However, after England's heartbreaking defeat to Argentina, Souness singled him out, saying he was "limited in ability."
Following Arsenal's 2-1 victory over title rivals Chelsea at the weekend, Graeme Souness appeared on Piers Morgan's new show "Football Uncut" on Monday and further asserted his views on Rice.
Souness told Morgan, "How many times have you seen him get the ball when he's the last man? During the build-up play, he's the last man. He's positioned between two center-backs, or between a center-back and a full-back. He's the last man. Many times, he's not playing in midfield at all."
"In my second or third home game of my career, I dropped back into the back line like all midfielders do today. That's old-school football, it's opportunistic, it's the old-school way of playing midfield. You get the ball without pressure and then pass it to the full-back."
Souness went on to explain that he had been severely criticized by his teammates at halftime after dropping back in midfield and making a 10-meter cross between the center-backs and full-backs. After that, his teammates demanded that he move forward and actually play in midfield.
Souness added: "He plays too deep and doesn't influence the game. I don't think he has enough midfield attributes. I'll tell you what he can do. He's England's best defensive midfielder right now, he can anticipate danger. But the problem is, he's always staying back."
"Then he's not a midfielder, right? I think he might be better suited to playing center-back. He moves the ball faster than you. I saw him dribble for 30 yards and then pass across. I like the way he plays, and I like how he opens up his body to handle the ball; there's nothing to dislike about him. But modern players are a bit delicate, and criticism doesn't easily fall on them. He's not a complete midfielder."
Morgan then stated that Rice is a world-class midfielder, to which Souness responded: "I'm not sure if he could play for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, or Manchester City. If you're looking for the best player in that position, Manchester City used to have two – Fernandinho and Rodri. They played midfield. Next time, watch him closely. He'll drop back, receive the ball low without pressure, make a 10-yard pass from Thiago Gabriel, and then cross the ball out."
Souness also again blamed Rice for England's loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in July.
He said: "When England were 1-0 up against Argentina, they were terrified. 'Oh, what do we do now?' I attribute that to the performance of the midfield duo of Rice and Elliott Anderson in the midfield engine area."
"Instead of getting the team going, they dropped back and stood hand in hand with the defense."
