Graeme Souness Questions Declan Rice’s Credentials as an Elite Midfielder

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Graeme Souness has renewed his criticism of Declan Rice, arguing that the Arsenal and England star plays too deep to be considered a complete midfielder. Speaking after Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea, Souness said Rice often drops between the defenders to collect simple passes instead of influencing play higher up the pitch. He described Rice as England’s best defensive midfielder but questioned his ability on the ball. Souness suggested Rice could ultimately be better suited to central defence. He also doubted whether Rice would start regularly for European giants such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City. Rice remains a key player for Arsenal, but Souness’ comments are likely to reopen debate over whether his best role is as a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box player or a centre-back.

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