Souness accuses Declan Rice of 'old man's football' and questions Arsenal star's elite status

Declan Rice and Morgan Rogers clash during Arsenal vs Chelsea

Graeme Souness criticised Declan Rice after Arsenal's 2-1 win over Chelsea, saying the £105m midfielder must push forward to be considered elite.

Declan Rice escapes yellow after Rogers bust-up as Souness hits out at Arsenal midfielder...

Declan Rice has come under fire from Graeme Souness, who questioned his role in the Arsenal team.

Rice and England teammate Morgan Rogers clashed during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea at the weekend, with tensions boiling over between the pair.

Rice appeared to trip Rogers, sparking a shoving match between the England teammates. Rice was fortunate not to be booked for the incident.  

Despite Arsenal’s 100% start to the season, Rice has looked off the pace so far and hasn’t had the same influence under Mikel Arteta that he usually does.  

Speaking on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored, Souness argued Rice cannot be classed as an elite midfielder because of the way he positions himself defensively.

“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.

“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. 

“He (Rice) 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.”

Souness continued: “But modern players are a bit precious. Criticism doesn't fall easily on these (players') shoulders. He isn't the complete midfield player.”

Full altercation between Morgan Rogers and Declan Rice pic.twitter.com/cjONwAu9uG

— Danjuma® (@_aijae) September 7, 2026

 

Rice has been a key player for Arsenal since his £105m move, but Souness might have a point, the midfielder needs to get further forward to have a bigger impact.