Arsenal star Declan Rice hits back at Graeme Souness over ‘cheating’ jibe

· Football365

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has hit back at Graeme Souness after being accused of playing “old man’s football” by the Liverpool legend.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has hit back at Graeme Souness after being accused of playing “old man’s football” by the Liverpool legend.

The England international has been brilliant since joining the Gunners from West Ham in a deal worth £105m in the summer of 2023.

Rice’s presence has helped take Arsenal to another level with Mikel Arteta’s side finally winning the Premier League title last season for the first time in 22 years.

However, Liverpool legend Souness doesn’t consider Rice to be a complete midfielder as the Arsenal star plays too deep his liking.

Souness said on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored: > “How many times do you see him as the last man with the ball? 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.

> “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.

> “He plays too deep to affect the game. 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.

> “He isn’t the complete midfield player.”

Despite not scoring yet this season, Rice has more assists (five) than any other player in the Premier League and the Arsenal midfielder is happy with his contributions since joining from West Ham.

Responding to criticism from Souness, Rice said: > “My numbers since I joined Arsenal speak for themselves. For a ‘centre back’, I think that’s not bad numbers. I’ve had a lot of assists, a lot of goals. To be a top-class centre back getting those numbers, I’m delighted with that!

> “Look, Graeme’s got his opinion. I think he’s had his opinion since my West Ham days. I’ve seen his views. I can’t change his opinion. I can only do what I do, which is go on the pitch, perform, play well and block out the noise.”

Arsenal star Rice addresses ‘old man’s football’ jibe

Rice added: > “If you speak about the positioning, the ‘old man’s football’, look at Harry Kane, for instance. We played him the other week [Bayern Munich 2-2 Arsenal] and he dropped next to the centre backs 20-30 times to pick up the ball.

> “The game is different now. It’s what the game demands, to get away from your man, to go into different areas to create overloads, to create two v ones, to progress the ball up the pitch. Football is way different. It’s changed a lot, and you’re always trying to look for tactical advantages.

> “In terms of me as a midfielder, I’m constantly watching clips with Mikel (Arteta). He’s constantly coaching me on the pitch. How I can progress the ball from deep, drop next to the goalkeeper, go to full back to get on the ball, to take the ball up the pitch.

> “So, I feel like we’re now seeing something totally different to what he would see, but in his time football was different. He was a top-class midfielder who won lots of stuff. There’s no argument against him. As a pundit, as a person, his career, you have to respect what he’s done.

> “I didn’t get to see him play, but obviously his accolades were top, and I’ve never got to meet him in person. If I did, there would be no disrespect. I’d shake his hand. I’d chat with him. It’s an opinion at the end of the day. It’s football.”

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