Honeymoon over for ex West Ham star Declan Rice at Arsenal as some fans turn. It’s been mostly sweetness and light for Declan Rice since he controversially left West Ham for Arsenal but that’s changing.
Nobody can argue Declan Rice didn’t take a step up by leaving West Ham for Arsenal last summer. One look at the current Premier League table tells you that. When Rice chose to sign for the Gunners over Man City, it did not sit well with many Hammers fans.
While Arsenal and West Ham have never shared a particularly fierce rivalry, they are still London rivals nonetheless. .Rice made it clear he wanted to go and win the top trophies football has to offer.
West Ham supporters felt joining Man City – with whom they enjoy good relations – would guarantee that and would therefore be the logical next step.
A few things Rice said on joining Arsenal upset Hammers fans too. But the midfielder has, in fairness, showed on multiple occasions since joining the Gunners – with both his words and actions – that he will always love the Hammers.
Rice speaks so highly of West Ham in interviews and refused to celebrate after scoring for Arsenal against West Ham in that 6-0 drubbing earlier this year.
He proudly posted about the club’s anniversary of their Europa Conference League win. And Rice even donated money to the cause of a cancer stricken young Hammers Academy goalkeeper.
He is still very tight with the likes of Mark Noble and Jarrod Bowen.
Rice is yet to kiss the Arsenal badge either – something that should be respected. Honeymoon over for ex West Ham star Rice at Arsenal. Now he’s experiencing something he never would have back home in east London.
The honeymoon is well and truly over for ex West Ham star Rice at Arsenal as some fans turn.
Rice was the golden boy at the London Stadium. He could do no wrong because he rarely ever did.
The midfield ace has continued that with Arsenal, where he quickly became a firm fan favourite. Gunners fans have taken great delight in telling West Ham just how well Rice has been doing for them.
But the former Hammers skipper has been nowhere near his brilliant best for a while now.
And many Arsenal fans have been critical of him of late.
Ironically the criticism has intensified while Rice has been used in a more advanced role by Mikel Arteta.
That won’t be lost on West Ham fans after it was claimed by pundits, journalists and Gunners supporters Rice has improved offensively as a result of the move.
Player ratings pieces and fan reaction to performances show Arsenal fans have been underwhelmed by Rice this season.
Many blame Arteta as he is not being played in his best position as a number six.
Rice is averaging just over 6.5/10 for his performances in the Premier League this term. That’s way down on his near 7.4/10 rating from his debut season.
Social media platform X was awash with criticism of Rice’s performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek.
Earlier this month Arsenal Insider felt the need to defend Rice’s performances amid fan criticism. Another recent Arsenal article asked whether ‘Rice has failed to meet expectations this season’.
Cannon Stats have also questioned his performances and forward passing in a more advanced role.
Some Gunners turn as Rice struggles in advanced role. Some England fans were also critical of Rice’s performances at the Euros and in the recent Nations League matches.
The 25-year-old is clearly going through a difficult spell. Now Rice might be appreciating the unconditional love he had at West Ham.
Especially as Arteta also comes under pressure with the Gunners facing a tough ask to win silverware again this season. It would be churlish to suggest Rice shouldn’t have made the move on the basis of this difficult period.
Knowing his quality and character, he will emerge an even better player because of it.
But sometimes there’s no place like home when you need some love. And my how West Ham could do with Rice right now.
West Ham fans will take great interest seeing how this sticky spell pans Out and whether Gunners fans get on his back further.
