England and Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice responds to criticism from former Liverpool player Graeme Souness, who argues Rice plays “too deep” and is not a complete midfielder. Souness made the comments on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored, describing Rice’s positioning as effectively sitting between defenders and functioning as the “last man” in build-up play. He also criticised the style as “old man’s football” and suggested it involves protecting possession and releasing the ball to defenders.
Rice’s reply focuses on his performance record and the idea that modern football has changed from the way Souness assesses midfielders. In particular, he points to his statistics with West Ham and Arsenal, including Premier League goals and assists, and jokes about the notion of playing as a “centre-back” rather than a midfielder. Across outlets, the disagreement centres on Rice’s role: whether his deeper positioning limits his influence, or whether it reflects a contemporary defensive-midfield approach.
While Metro and The Mirror lead with Rice “firing back” at Souness, the right-leaning outlets (Mail Online and the Daily Mail) also emphasise the “old man’s football/cheating” framing and include Rice’s “for a centre-back” quip. All accounts describe the same basic exchange and the same underlying debate about what a midfield player should do.
