Gary Neville's comment on Declan Rice labelled 'harsh' as he questions Arsenal man

A fiery debate erupted between football pundits Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes over Declan Rice's best position for England and Arsenal. Rice's impressive performances during the international break sparked a discussion about his best role on the pitch, which led to Neville being labelled "so harsh" for questioning the player's limitations.

Manchester United legend Scholes drew parallels with his own career with England, noting that it wasn't until later in his career he found arguably his best position. The same question was posed about Rice, leading to a disagreement among the pundits about where he's most effective.

Neville questioned whether Rice was "capable of playing that deep-lying" midfield role on the latest episode of The Overlap (via football.london), to which Scholes responded that he believes "it's his best role." That comment surprised Neville, who replied: "I don't think he can get the ball off the back four like a Rodri can."

"I'm not saying he's not a competent player [at No6]. . .I'm talking about in the tournament when he'll get on the ball, get us playing, keep us moving, get us playing," said the retired right-back. "I'm not sure that's what he does!"

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on The Overlap 

Neville suggested Rice is put to better use in a more advanced role 

Keane further lauded Rice's performance against the Republic of Ireland - where he netted one goal and assisted another - as evidence of his potential to excel further upfield. While he may not meet Scholes' supposed expectations of "15 or 20 goals a season," Keane was confident he could reach double figures.

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Carragher also posed the point as to whether positions and roles can become overly complex in today's game, adding: "When you go back to when you were playing, Roy, you think of [Bryan] Robson, yourself, Incey [Paul Ince] in there. . .you didn't say, 'He's a holder [etc].' You were just a midfield player.

"And I know the game [today]. . .someone's a six, someone's an eight, someone's a 10 and all that, but I think [Rice] can [do it all]. You [Keane] would get back and defend, get forward in attack. . .he's that midfield player, for me, that can do both."

Following a promising first international break under Lee Carsley, Rice is set for a delayed return to club duties at the Emirates Stadium due to his red card in the recent 1-1 draw with Brighton. That has ruled him out of Sunday's north London derby and means Mikel Arteta will hope to navigate the biggest fixture of Arsenal's campaign to date without his key man.