Graeme Souness has once again sharply criticised Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, claiming he plays "too deep" and may be better suited to a defensive role.

Despite Declan Rice becoming a key player for both Arsenal and England since his move to Emirates Stadium for £105 million in 2023, Souness still believes the 27-year-old lacks the qualities needed for a top-level central midfielder.

Last season, the Arsenal star helped his team win their first Premier League title in 20 years, and over the summer he helped England reach the Euro 2024 final. However, following England's heartbreaking loss to Spain in the final, Souness singled him out for criticism, calling him "limited".

After Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the title race over the weekend, Souness appeared on Piers Morgan's new show "Uncensored" on Monday and elaborated on his views of Declan Rice.

Souness told Morgan: "How many times do you see him when he gets the ball as the last player? When it comes to building play, he's the last player. He stands between the two centre-backs or between a centre-back and a full-back. He's the last player. Often he's not even playing in midfield".

"In my second or third game, I dropped back into defence like all midfielders do today. That's old-school football, it's opportunistic play, it's old-school midfield play. You get the ball without pressure, then you pass it to the full-back".

Souness went on to explain that he was heavily criticised by a teammate at half-time after he dropped into midfield and made a 10-yard horizontal pass between a centre-back and full-back. His teammate then told him to push forward and play like a proper midfielder.

Souness added: "He plays too deep and doesn't impact the game. I don't think he has the qualities of a midfielder. I'll tell you what he can do. Right now he's England's best defensive midfielder, he can anticipate danger. But the problem is he always stays behind".

"Then he's not a midfielder, is he? I think he might be better suited as a centre-back. The ball moves faster than you. I've seen him run 30 yards with the ball and then make a horizontal pass. I like how he plays and how he opens up to receive the ball, there's nothing to dislike. But modern players are a bit spoilt, and criticism doesn't stick to these players easily. He's not a complete midfielder".

Morgan then stated that Declan Rice is a world-class midfielder, to which Souness responded: "I'm not sure he'd get into Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City. If you want to find the best players in this position, Manchester City previously had two—Fernandinho and Rodri. They play as midfielders. Next time watch him carefully. He'll drop back, get the ball without pressure on the cheap, make a 10-yard pass from Gabriel, then pass it horizontally".

Souness also once again blamed Declan Rice for England's loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

He said: "When England were leading 1-0 against Spain, they were terrified. 'What now?' I attribute that to the performance of Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson as a midfield pairing in the centre of the pitch".

"Instead of driving the team forward, they dropped back and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the defence".

Переведено ИИ.

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