Rice dismisses Souness 'cheating' claim with Arsenal numbers and Kane comparison

Declan Rice has hit back at Graeme Souness after the former Liverpool midfielder accused the Arsenal star of “cheating” by dropping too deep, insisting his attacking output since joining the club speaks for itself.

Souness, speaking in his role as a TV pundit, argued that Rice behaves more like a centre-half than a midfielder. “A lot of the time, he doesn’t play in midfield. I think he may be a centre-half. He’s back there all the time. It’s old man’s football. It’s cheating. An old man’s way of playing midfield,” Souness said.

Rice, who helped Arsenal win their first league title in 22 years and guided England to the World Cup semi-finals, was measured but pointed in his reply. “For a centre-back, I think my numbers are not bad,” he said. “My numbers since I joined Arsenal speak for themselves. I think I’ve had a lot of assists, a lot of goals and to be a top-class centre-back getting those numbers I’m delighted with that.”

The England midfielder acknowledged that Souness has held this view for some time. “I think he’s had his opinion probably since my West Ham days, if I’m being honest with you,” Rice said. “I’ve seen his views. I can’t change his opinion. I can only go on the pitch, perform, play well and block out the noise.”

Rice was careful to keep the exchange respectful, noting that Souness predates his era of the game. “I can’t really say much because he was way before my time. I didn’t really get to see Graeme as a player. I’m sure if I met him in person there would be no disrespect there. I’d shake his hand. I’d chat with him. It’s an opinion at the end of the day. It’s football.”

To reinforce his point about the modern game’s tactical demands, Rice cited Harry Kane as a comparable example. “Look at Harry Kane. We played him the other week against Bayern Munich — he dropped next to the centre-backs 20 to 30 times in the game to pick up the ball. The game’s different now.”

Rice will be central to England’s Nations League group decider against Spain at the Metropolitano in Madrid on Sunday, where he is set to earn his 82nd cap. “This is massive. You are going away to the Metropolitano, playing the world champions in a game to see who can top the group,” he said. “We have a massive motive to win the group. To beat Spain as the away team would be a massive thing for us.”