Graeme Souness admits there is actually something he really likes about Declan Rice

Graeme Souness is talking about Declan Rice again.

The former Liverpool midfielder has made no secret of the fact that he doesn’t rate the Arsenal midfielder. During the World Cup, Souness critiqued both Rice and Elliot Anderson, and claimed that the former is actually more of a centre-half, in his eyes.

He recently doubled down on that opinion, going further and saying that Rice doesn’t impact the game further up the pitch enough to be considered a midfield player. The Scotsman isn’t convinced he would get into Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City.

Not only do Arsenal fans know he’s talking nonsense, the stats have backed it up too. Rice actually outperforms Pedri and Vitinha in almost every meaningful metric as a midfield player. Souness doesn’t strike me as someone who’d be won over by stats, though.

But he’s actually had something positive to say about Rice now. Or a backhanded compliment, maybe.

Graeme Souness praises Declan Rice’s attitude

Speaking to the Daily Star, Souness was asked about Rice and offered what might be his most generous assessment yet.

“There’s nothing about him to dislike,” Souness said. “As a fella — I’ve never met him, but certainly his attitude to the game — there’s absolutely nothing to dislike.”

He then added, somewhat inevitably, that his criticism might actually help Rice improve. “Me criticising him may have just planted a little seed that he can go further up and play. They can become more of a midfield player. He can influence the game by playing 20 yards further up the field. I don’t think he’s got that in him. He may prove me wrong. I don’t think he’s got that.”

He seems to be basically implying that Rice is a bit of a ‘passion merchant’, maybe? Or a water-carrier? Arsenal fans know he’s much more than that, and neither Rice nor Mikel Arteta will care what Souness has to say.