Souness sticks to his guns on Rice criticism after £105m transfer to Arsenal

19 July 2023 , 18:41

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Souness sticks to his guns on Rice criticism after £105m transfer to Arsenal

Graeme Souness has doubled down on his criticism of Declan Rice after Arsenal forked out a whopping £105m to sign him from West Ham.

Rice is Arsenal's club record signing and the most expensive British player ever, but Souness does not believe he is "multi-dimensional" enough to be classed to be classed as a truly elite midfielder. And the Liverpool legend has stuck to his guns over Rice following his switch to the Emirates, claiming he needs to score more goals.

"The only criticism I had of Declan [Rice], was that he did not get enough goals, and I am still standing by that," Souness told talkSPORT. "Just because you're a defensive midfield player does not mean you can't chip in with goals.

"He has to chip in with more. Arsenal finished second last year, and he will undoubtably improve them. Can they make that jump from second to first because of Declan? Possibly, but he needs to chip in with more goals.

"For the defensive midfielder he is, he has a defensive head, he sees the danger, deals with it, he is extremely athletic, and goes up and down the park. I just want him to be coming on to balls in and around the box, he is attacking, let him go.

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"There is no reason he can't get double figures every year playing for that Arsenal team." Back in February, Souness claimed Rice was not only lacking in front of goal, but was also not creative enough.

This [midfield] role is a vital part of any team because in an ideal world, it's multi-dimensional," he said. "You are creative, you chip in with goals and you've got a defensive head at all times.

Arsenal have paid £105m to sign Rice from West Ham (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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"Even when you're on the front foot, you are thinking: 'We are vulnerable if we lose possession.' If you've got all three of those attributes, you're worth your weight in gold. For me, Rice has just one of them."

Rice did respond to Souness' criticism at the time, branding it "harsh" and insisting he took it "with a pinch of salt". The 24-year-old said: "It's harsh. I think it's harsh because Souness doesn't watch West Ham every week.

"There's loads of West Ham fans, 60,000 go every week, and see what I do. So I think to say I'm only good at one of three is harsh. It's one of those where you take it with a pinch of salt and try not to let it affect you that much."

Matthew Cooper