Declan Rice’s West Ham verdict after our shambolic defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates was as brutal as it was entirely true.
Arsenal dominated the Hammers last night.
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Sure, the Gunners were farcically awarded a penalty that never should have been given. But aside from that, Mikel Arteta’s men were so much better than David Moyes’s side.
West Ham were poor all over the pitch.
The players weren’t as committed as they should have been, they were lacklustre with their passing and movement and posed no threat at all to the Arsenal defenders.
Declan Rice delivers worrying West Ham verdict
The 22-year-old Hammers star has been the standout performer at the London Stadium this season.
He has been the only player to emerge from the past four or five games with any credit whatsoever.
It’s clear and obvious to see that the other West Ham players lining up alongside him aren’t at his level.
Rice spoke to BT Sport after the game and delivered a brutally honest verdict on his side’s performance against Arsenal:
“Not good enough tonight, nowhere near at the level that’s required to be a top four team. You can’t come to a place like Arsenal and let them impose themselves. We made bad decisions, gave the ball away cheaply, took too many touches, we were soft, not putting the ball in the box and not making tactical fouls. Yeh, just all round. We didn’t have the cutting edge to score.”
Nobody can argue with a single word that Rice said there.
It was painful to listen to because there are so many issues with our team at the moment.
It needed to be said though.
Hopefully every West Ham player and David Moyes hears that. Each and every Hammers player needs to raise their levels. We have games against Norwich, Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, Southampton, Watford and Crystal Palace to come between now and New Year’s Day.
Stark improvements are needed if we are to get our season back on track. A reality check was needed after last night’s shambolic display against Arsenal.
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And Declan Rice gave everyone involved with West Ham exactly that after the game.
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