'He's not a midfielder!' - Graeme Souness launches sensational 'cheating' attack on Arsenal star Declan Rice after Chelsea win

Souness took aim at the 27-year-old following Arsenal's recent 2-1 victory over title rivals Chelsea. Speaking on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored show, the former Liverpool captain dissected Rice’s habit of dropping deep during the build-up phase. He argued that the £105 million signing frequently operates as a defender rather than a true midfielder.

Despite acknowledging Rice as the finest defensive midfielder in England, Souness insisted his tendency to collect the ball unchallenged from the backline severely limits his overall impact. The pundit firmly rejected the notion that the Arsenal anchor belongs in the same bracket as elite holding midfielders across Europe's top clubs.

Souness pulled no punches when evaluating the midfielder's deep positioning. "How many times do you see him as the last man with the ball," he told Morgan. "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."

While praising his defensive instincts, Souness questioned his influence on matches. "He (Rice) plays too deep to affect the game," Souness continued. "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 even suggested a positional change might be appropriate for the England international. "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."

When pressed on Rice's world-class status, Souness was totally dismissive. "I'm not sure if he gets in Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man City," he remarked. "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."

The pundit also held Rice accountable for England's World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina over the summer. "When England went one-nil up against Argentina, they s*** themselves. 'Oh, what do we do now?' And I put that down to Declan Rice and [Elliot] Anderson as the central midfield players in the engine room," Souness claimed. "They didn't get them playing. They went back in held hands with the back four."

Despite the criticism, Rice remains a crucial figure for Mikel Arteta’s side, who sit second in the Premier League after a perfect start to the campaign. Arsenal have secured three consecutive wins against Coventry, Aston Villa, and Chelsea to kick off their title defence.

Arteta now has the luxury of rotating his midfield general following the £75m summer arrival of Bruno Guimaraes, who started on the bench against Chelsea. The Gunners return to action on Wednesday with a Champions League clash against Napoli, before travelling to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland this Saturday.