Declan Rice has hit back at Graeme Souness after the Liverpool legend publicly accused him of “cheating” by dropping into defence for Arsenal. The England midfielder pointed to his goals and assists since joining the Gunners, used Harry Kane as proof that the game has changed, and insisted he would still shake hands with one of his most outspoken critics.
Souness questions Rice’s midfield role
Rice has responded to Souness after the former Liverpool captain and manager claimed he spends far too much time alongside his defenders. As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Souness has regularly demanded more from the Arsenal star and said: “I think he may be a centre-half. He’s back there all the time. It’s cheating. An old man’s way of playing midfield.”
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Rice has become one of England’s leading midfielders since his £100 million move from West Ham three years ago, helping Arsenal win the Premier League last season before they lost the Champions League final.
Rice lets his numbers do the talking
Rather than biting back, Rice pointed to his output at Arsenal, where he has scored 22 goals and provided 36 assists in 173 appearances. “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. Look, Graeme’s got his opinion. I think he’s had his opinion probably since my West Ham days, if I’m being honest with you. But it’s one of them things. As an ex-pro you’re going to have an opinion on something.”
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Rice holds no grudge against Liverpool great
Souness won 12 major honours as a Liverpool midfielder between 1978 and 1984 and has since built a reputation as an outspoken pundit, but Rice insisted there is no bad blood. “I’ve seen his views. I can’t change his opinion. I can only do what I do, which is go on the pitch, perform, play well and block out the noise. I can’t really say much because he was way before my time – I didn’t really get to see Graeme as a player.
“Obviously I know him as a pundit. So 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. Yeah, it doesn’t matter. It’s an opinion at the end of the day. It’s football.”
Kane example and England’s Spain test
Rice also used Kane to defend his positioning. “Look, if you speak about, as you said, the positioning and old man’s football, look at Harry Kane. We played him the other week against Bayern Munich, he dropped next to the centre-backs 20-30 times in the game to pick up the ball. The game’s different now.”
Rice will hope to answer his critic on the pitch again when England face Spain in Sunday’s Nations League decider in Madrid.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
