Premier League stat has made Graeme Souness' Declan Rice criticism look even more insane

Graeme Souness has been vocal in his criticism of Declan Rice in recent months, describing the Arsenal star as a 'centre-back' and 'limited' in his overall game.

Aside from the fact that these claims about the Ballon d'Or-nominated midfielder are obviously ludicrous, data from the early part of the new Premier League season has exposed just how absurd Souness' argument is. Rice, who has withdrawn from the England squad for this international break due to an injury he's supposedly been carrying for a while, has been excellent at the beginning of this campaign.

Deployed in a deeper role than usual, the number 41 has been able to express his exceptional passing from the base of the midfield, dictating Arsenal's build-up throughout matches.

Despite these outstanding displays, Souness continues to double down on his belief that Rice is nothing to write home about.

What Graeme Souness said about Declan Rice

During the World Cup, when England's dysfunctional system was getting exposed by the likes of DR Congo and Ghana, Souness took to talkSPORT to bemoan Rice's inclination to drop deep, describing the midfielder as a 'centre-back'.

Unsurprisingly, the pundit didn't back down on this take after being challenged by many in the punditry sphere. Earlier this month, he hit out at Rice again, producing a bizarre attack on the 27-year-old's tactical role of dropping between the central defenders to progress the ball.

"How many times do you see him as the last man with the ball," he said on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored show.

"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 [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.

"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.

"I'm not sure if he gets in Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Man City's teams. If you want the best in that position, City had two of them - Fernandinho and Rodri. They played in midfield. Next time, please watch him. He goes in and gets it cheap under no pressure, a 10-yard pass off Gabriel, and passes it sideways."

Breaking down Graeme Souness' Declan Rice criticism

There's a lot to unpack from this rambling nonsense, but there is a brief and necessary caveat to make at the start. Souness, who hasn't been seen on British football broadcasts since 2023, doesn't seem to have paid much attention to Rice's career in recent years, made an obviously bad point and is now desperately trying to defend his point despite probably being aware of how inaccurate it is.

Rice was playing as a box-to-box midfielder in the 2024/25 season, when he scored nine goals and provided seven assists across all competitions and was subsequently named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was rarely close to his own goal in build-up. In fact, some Arsenal fans actually bemoanrd Rice's lack of natural ability in the final third and called for Mikel Arteta to drop him deeper.

This position change did materialise gradually over the course of last season for tactical and personnel reasons. He was dropped deeper, for a key reason which completely contradicts Souness' entire argument.

Arsenal needed someone to take the ball at the base of their midfield and get it forward to their attacking players. Rice was tasked with doing this because he's really good at it - he's an excellent passer and carrier of the ball.

Apart from the fact that this is obvious when watching him (he constantly produces eye-catching, line-breaking passes), it's also reflected in data, which Souness simply cannot ignore.

The table above shows the leading players for line-breaking passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. Both on the eye and in the data, Rice is constantly playing dangerous progressive passes, yet Souness thinks he's 'limited' on the ball.

For the final point, Rice would obviously get into pretty much any team in the world. A player with his combination of passing, carrying and exceptional defensive recovery skills is incredibly unique, and means any side would be happy to have him.

If he were Spanish, called 'Declán Rícez' and already played for Barcelona, there is no chance Souness would be voicing these opinions.

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