Graeme Souness Critiques Declan Rice's Midfield Role

Graeme Souness has launched a scathing assessment of Declan Rice, accusing Arsenal’s £105 million midfielder of “cheating” his position and playing “old man’s football” despite branding him the best defensive midfielder in England.

The former Liverpool captain was speaking on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored show in the wake of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over title rivals Chelsea, and he zeroed in on Rice’s habit of dropping into the back line during the build-up.

“He plays as the last man”

Souness argued that Rice spends too much time operating like a defender rather than a true midfielder.

“How many times do you see him as the last man with the ball?” he asked Morgan. “In the build-up, he's last man. He's sitting between two centre-halves or between the centre-half and the full-back. He's last man. A lot of the time, he doesn't play in midfield.”

For Souness, that positioning strips Rice of influence higher up the pitch and flatters to deceive in terms of responsibility.

He even turned to his own playing days to ram the point home.

“In my second or third home game (of my career), I went into the back four like all midfield players do today. It's old man's football. It's cheating. An old man's way of playing midfield. You get the ball under no pressure and you play it out to the full-back.”

Praise with a sting

Souness did not dispute Rice’s defensive instincts. In fact, he elevated him above all domestic rivals in that regard.

“He (Rice) plays too deep to affect the game,” he continued. “I don't think he's got enough football. Let me tell you what he can do. He's the best defensive midfielder in the country right now, he smells danger. But then again, he's back there all the time.”

That, in Souness’s eyes, is the crux of the problem: elite holding midfielders at Europe’s top clubs control games from midfield, not from the edge of their own box.

“He may be a centre-half”

The criticism didn’t stop at positioning. Souness openly questioned whether Rice should even be considered a midfielder.

“He's not a midfield player then is he? I think he may be a centre-half. The ball travels faster than you do. I see him run with the ball 30 yards and pass it square.”

There was admiration in parts — but always with a barb attached.

“He's a lovely kicker of the ball and opens his body up well, there's nothing to dislike about him. But modern players are a bit precious. Criticism doesn't fall easily on these (players') shoulders. He isn't the complete midfield player.”

Not in the same bracket as Europe’s elite

Asked whether Rice belongs among the world’s best in his position, Souness was blunt.

“I'm not sure if he gets in Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man City,” he said.

He then held up Manchester City’s recent past as the benchmark.

“If you want the best in that position, City had two of them - Fernandinho and Rodri. They played in midfield. Next time, please watch him. He goes in and gets it cheap under no pressure, a 10-yard pass off Gabriel, and passes it sideways.”

The accusation was clear: Rice, for all his reputation and price tag, takes the easy option too often and does not dictate games the way the very best do.

Blame for England’s World Cup exit

Souness even dragged Rice’s international record into the debate, pointing to England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina in the summer.

“When England went one-nil up against Argentina, they s*** themselves. 'Oh, what do we do now?' And I put that down to Declan Rice and [Elliot] Anderson as the central midfield players in the engine room,” he claimed. “They didn't get them playing. They went back in held hands with the back four.”

For Souness, that night summed up his wider argument: when the pressure rises and control is needed from midfield, Rice retreats instead of taking command.

The Arsenal man has been hailed as a transformative signing in north London and a cornerstone for England. After this barrage, the question lingers: can he bend his game to prove he’s more than just the best of the domestic bunch?