Declan Rice hits back at Graeme Souness over his style of play

Declan Rice has not let Graeme Souness’s criticism pass without response. The Liverpool legend accused him of playing “old man’s” football. The Arsenal midfielder, who is in great form, said football has evolved and that he will not be affected by the opinions of the former Scotland international. “I can’t change his opinion,” said Rice, appearing unbothered by the criticism.

Souness, who made his name in the 1970s and 1980s, had already expressed his dissatisfaction with Rice’s style of play, suggesting the player positions himself as a centre-back in disguise because of his deeper movements on the pitch. The former manager, who has been out of coaching for two decades, considers Rice “limited” and not a “complete midfielder”. According to Souness, the Arsenal player is playing “old man’s football”, even going so far as to say it is a form of “cheating”. “He is sitting between two centre-backs or between the centre-back and the full-back. Often, he doesn’t play in midfield,” he said.

Souness’s criticism is not new. In the past, when Rice was still at West Ham, the former player had already written that modern midfielders must be able to score, create and defend, pointing out that Rice only meets one of those criteria. The player said at the time that the comments were “harsh”.

In response to the criticism, Rice, who was preparing to represent England against Spain in the Nations League, pointed out that Souness played “long before my time”, and so his view of the modern game may not be entirely in line with it. “If we talk about position and old man’s football, look at Harry Kane, for example. He dropped next to the centre-backs 20, 30 times in the game against Bayern Munich,” Rice said by way of example, stressing that the game has changed significantly.

Rice argued that the demands of modern football require players to move around to create tactical advantages, while Souness has held the same opinion since his West Ham days. “As a former professional, it’s normal to have an opinion. I’ve seen his opinions. I can’t change his opinion. I can only do what I do, go out on the pitch, play well and ignore the noise,” Rice added.

The player also defended himself by pointing out that his numbers since joining Arsenal speak for themselves. “If we talk about my numbers at Arsenal, they’re not bad at all for a ‘centre-back’. I have plenty of assists and goals, and for a world-class ‘centre-back’, I’m happy with that!” Rice joked. Comparing himself with Souness, who scored 100 goals in 760 matches, Rice already has 45 goals in 495 games and 36 assists, underlining his importance to the team.

This war of words between Rice and Souness highlights not only the evolution of the game but also the need for players to adapt to new tactical demands, making it a hot topic in the football world.