Graeme Souness has renewed his criticism of Declan Rice, accusing the Arsenal midfielder of playing "old man's football" and suggesting he is "cheating" with his positioning on the pitch.
The England international remains the most expensive player in Arsenal's history and has been key to the club's rise among Europe's elite. Rice helped Arsenal win the Premier League last season, but Souness remains unconvinced by his quality and does not place him in the top bracket of midfielders.
Positioning under fire
Souness has taken issue with the position the 27-year-old adopts during games. He pointed out that Rice can often be seen as one of the deepest Arsenal players, giving him more time on the ball as he effectively plays as a central defender. The former Sky Sports pundit described this as "cheating" in his latest assessment.
Speaking on Piers Morgan's new Football Uncensored show, Souness said: "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."
He added: "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."
Not a complete midfielder
Souness has previously claimed that Rice's game is limited, despite the midfielder's clear influence on Arsenal and England. The Liverpool great believes Rice plays too deep to genuinely affect the outcome of matches.
"He (Rice) plays too deep to affect the game," Souness 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.
"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. 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."
