West Ham sold Declan Rice to Arsenal in the summer transfer window for what was a British transfer record at the time – £105 million.
Declan Rice left West Ham to join Arsenal amidst a flurry of criticism from some sections of the Hammers fanbase.
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David Moyes was powerless to prevent the 24-year-old from leaving the London Stadium in the end.
The good thing for West Ham is that we seemingly have become a better team without Rice after some exceptional summer recruitment.
However, that din’t make his exit any easier to accept for the Hammers fans. Rice spoke out of turn in my opinion during the World Cup break, when he essentially put himself in the shop window with his comments suggesting that he was desperate to play Champions League football.
The fact that he joined a London rival didn’t sit well with the London Stadium faithful either. And since then, the midfielder has incurred the wrath of the West Ham fans with his over the top praise for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal as a club in general.
Now Dec has moved to calm tensions ahead of a return to the London Stadium…
Declan Rice tries to defuse tensions with West Ham fans
The Gunners are first set to meet the Hammers in the Premier League on Boxing Day at the Emirates. However, we are set to welcome Arsenal to the London Stadium at the end of this month in the Carabao Cup.
And Dec sent a message to the West Ham fans ahead of that potential reunion, as quoted by Four Four Two:
“I want to keep a positive relationship with him (Moyes) because he was so good to me, and the supporters were, too – they’re special. I know it’s hard when you see a player move on to another club, but I’m sure they understand – hopefully when I see them again, I’ll be able to say goodbye properly.”
I feel like Rice is underestimating just how much some sections of the Hammers support dislike him now.
It’s how football should be in all fairness. Tribalism is at the core of our culture when it comes to the beautiful game, and as good as he undoubtedly was for us, there should be no rounds of applause when he returns to East London.
I think that Declan Rice could be in for a rough reception when he returns to West Ham with Arsenal.
As long as long as it doesn’t cross the line into personal abuse, then I’m all for it.
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