Steven Gerrard shuts down Martin Keown as he defends Rangers legend Graeme Souness

Steven Gerrard has earned praise from football fans after refusing to get involved when Martin Keown appeared to take a swipe at Graeme Souness during live coverage on TNT Sports.

The former Rangers manager was working as a pundit at the Allianz Arena following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich, where he discussed the performance of Declan Rice, who scored a late equaliser for the Gunners.

Gerrard was full of praise for the England international, describing his goal as an outstanding moment. However, former Arsenal defender Keown interrupted the conversation, seemingly attempting to draw Gerrard into the ongoing debate surrounding Souness’ views on whether Rice belongs among the world’s elite midfielders.

“But this nonsense about him not being a top midfield player…” Keown interjected.

Gerrard, though, showed little interest in joining the discussion and quickly brought the conversation back to Rice’s performance.

“Oh, forget about that. Declan Rice is a world-class midfielder and that was a top, top goal,” he responded.

He continued: “You’re thinking about things that are going on in your life. Declan Rice is a world-class midfielder and that was a top, top goal. But you don’t have to prove that because of all the other stuff that’s going on on all your other shows.”

The former Liverpool captain’s response was widely praised on social media, with several supporters impressed by how he avoided being drawn into a confrontation involving Souness, a fellow Liverpool great and former Rangers icon.

One fan commented: “Martin Keown was getting ready to fire back at Souness…. Gerrard nipped it in the bud quickly.”

Another wrote: “He actually thought Stevie would join in with him ganging up on Souness.”

A third supporter praised Gerrard for the way he handled the exchange, saying: “Says a lot about Gerrard for standing up for Souness here. And he did it in such a smart way. He stopped him from taking shots at Souness.”

Gerrard’s intervention has therefore attracted attention beyond the original debate about Rice, with fans applauding his decision to keep the discussion focused on the midfielder’s performance rather than becoming involved in a disagreement between pundits.