Graeme Souness has already sent a warning to Arsenal major Declan Rice as the Man Utd star was favored

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Liverpool icon Graeme Souness has already sent Arsenal a warning over their new record signing Declan Rice. The Gunners announced the £105million deal on Saturday as the former West Ham captain gave a speech to his new teammates at a meeting called by boss Mikel Arteta, after finally closing negotiations with the Gunners. Hammers.

Souness told Arsenal that Rice does not compare himself to his Manchester United counterpart because although the former Sky Sports pundit believes the defensive side of his game is second to none - going forward, the player 24 year old needs to improve to justify its price.

"This [midfield] role is a vital part of any team because in an ideal world it is multi-dimensional," the Scotsman wrote in his February column. "You're creative, you score goals and you have a defensive header at all times. Even when you're on the front foot, you think: 'We're vulnerable if we lose the ball.' If you have these three attributes, you are worth your weight in gold. To me, Rice has only one.

"Judge him on defensiveness alone and you'd have to say he's the best in the country at that position. He's mobile and athletic. He covers ground very easily and clears a lot of the danger before it doesn't become a big problem for West Ham.

"For the centre-halves he's playing in front of, he'll be fantastic, because he prevents that dangerous killer ball being played against the striker or the strikers. In that sense, he's a 10 out of 10. But ultimately, I think that he could be a centre-half. It's when it comes to the other two important parts of being a central midfielder that I think Rice is a bit short. Take that into account and I have to say that he's not the best at this job."

Souness claimed Rice paled in comparison to Casemiro at United and Roy Keane and Fernandinho before him, although Rice and Casemiro both scored the same in the Premier League last season with four goals.

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"Rice brings that defensive aspect but for me Casemiro at Manchester United is currently the best central midfielder at the moment because he defends, scores goals and has the smart pass," added Souness. "Manchester City's Roy Keane and Fernandinho were the best I've seen in the Premier League of this type. I now see Casemiro performing at this level."

Rice has already replied to Souness during