Martin Keown Calls out Graeme Souness over Declan Rice Comments.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has hit back at comments made by former Liverpool player Graeme Souness about Declan Rice in the post-match review of yesterday’s 2-1 victory over Leeds United at The Emirates Stadium. 

Appearing on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored show, Souness went in on the 27-year-old, who Arsenal signed for £105million in the summer of 2023. In a conversation with die-hard Arsenal fan Morgan, Souness said that Declan Rice "sits too deep during attacking build-up" and even suggested that Arsenal's record transfer may even be "better suited to centre-back.”

Souness went on to say how he feels that Rice “isn’t the complete midfielder” before going as far as to say that it is “old man’s football” and is “cheating” in reference to ‘always’ dropping deep between the centre backs, receiving the ball from them, and then playing a sideways pass instead of making a forward pass and breaking the lines. 

In one last jab at the Premier League winner and three-time PFA Team Of The Season player, Souness then questioned as to whether he would even make it into the Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Manchester City sides. Ironically, Arsenal have beaten all but one of those sides in recent years, in games where Declan Rice outshone his opponents in midfield to push Arsenal to victory.

Martin Keown was quick to rush to the defence of Rice in comments that he made live on TNT Sport when the panel were reviewing yesterday’s game, in which Arsenal came from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 and gain a priceless three points.

When reviewing Arsenal’s winning goal, a beautiful strike from their £75million summer signing Bruno Guimarães, Keown highlighted Rice’s part in the goal, a sumptuous flick for the assist. The former invincible said “Shoutout to Declan Rice. We have got Graeme Souness saying that he is not a midfield player - he is a number ten, isn’t he? Look at that flick! I think we underestimate how good some of these English players are. It is limitless for him, how he has improved.” 

All you have to do is look at Declan Rice’s numbers and both the individual and team accolades he has won to know how important he is to this Arsenal side. Rice can do it all, and has even put shifts in at right-back in the past for Mikel Arteta’s side.

It will fill him with confidence to see former Arsenal players and pundits across the nation coming to his defence, but there is no doubt he will continue to let his footballing ability on the pitch do the talking. If anything, it points towards sheer jealously from Souness, with his beloved Liverpool missing a profile similar to Rice in their squad as of late.