Declan Rice has morphed into Arsenal’s version of Roy Keane ...Middle East

Pray for Declan Rice, a £100m footballer, a Premier League winner, indispensable for Arsenal and England, but not good enough for old grumpy chops himself, Graeme Souness.

The Souness dial is permanently set on dour, as it was as a player at the heart of the Liverpool and Scotland midfield half a century ago. Mercifully the moustache has gone and the nose is surgically straighter.

The combative attitude remains, however, and once again he has gone in two-footed on Rice. The claim that Rice is incomplete at top level is not new. Indeed The i Paper readers have been absorbing the idea since the 2021 Euros, where this correspondent highlighted his limitations in the duplication of roles with midfield partner Kalvin Phillips.

Rice typifies an ancient English preference for character, stamina and dependability over style and creativity.

He does not lack ability, of course. He can pass long and short, but, as Souness remarks, there is little finesse about his work. He does not flourish in tight spaces and tends to run in straight lines.

"He's FUMING Morgan Rogers!" pic.twitter.com/FciivEedvh

So the question is, why is every Englishman and his dog so persuaded by him? Why did Arsenal break the bank to get him? Why is he so indispensable for England, with Thomas Tuchel equally enamored?

The answer was revealed on Sunday during the season’s first meeting of title rivals at the Emirates when Rice blew up in the face of England teammate Morgan Rogers.

We can argue the toss about the clip of his heels that sent Chelsea’s record signing tumbling.

The referee deemed Rice’s contact accidental. Rogers turned on Rice like a betrayed lover. Rice stared him down, sang him a song, took the piss, became Roy Keane.

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why Rice’s coaches and his teammates cannot bear to be without him. It is called leadership, that immeasurable quality that lifts those around him, makes others stand tall at his shoulder.

Keane was not the greatest player to wear the red of Manchester United. He did not have the technique of Denis Law, George Best or Bobby Charlton, he could not ping a pass like Ray Wilkins or Paul Scholes, did not find the net with the frequency of the talismanic Bryan Robson. But he was always greater than the sum of his parts, leading by example and drawing the extra five per cent from his teammates that made the difference in big games.

What Rice lacks in skill and imagination he makes up with a monster mentality, the same attribute that made Keane great and Souness such a force in Liverpool’s peak 80s period.

Like Sir Alex Ferguson and Bob Paisley, Arteta has found a balance that best accommodates Rice’s strengths, not least the inclusion of a playmaker of the quality of Martin Odegaard. Keane had Scholes for divine company, Souness the incomparable Kenny Dalglish.

England have yet to find that balance. Tuchel’s preference for the Rice double pivot alongside Elliot Anderson at this summer’s World Cup replicated Gareth Southgate’s erroneous pairing of Rice and Phillips, which was a key factor in the defeat to Italy in the 2021 Euro final when they were outmanoeuvred by Marco Verratti and Jorginho.

The problem resurfaced at the 2024 Euros in Germany and again in North America, where Souness’s agitation first surfaced.

Rice is not the type to dwell on the opinion of others. Unlike Keane and Souness, he appears cursed by happy genes.

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There is none of the malcontent about him. Neither is it for Rice to fundamentally change his game. At 27 that mold is set.

Souness thinks he might be better at centre-half. He certainly did a turn for Tuchel at right-back during the World Cup. Conversely, in his previous life at West Ham, Rice looked dangerous higher up the pitch when David Moyes would send him on rampaging rescue missions.

Though Souness makes a sound point about Rice’s flair deficit, it is not necessarily for his technique that he is valued by coaches. He might not be first choice at Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich, as Souness argues, but that is not to say he would not be worth his place. They can’t all be Mbappes, Vinicius Jrs and Bellinghams. Grunt has its place, too.

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