New West Ham duo must up their game or embarrass fans in front of Declan Rice on his return with Arsenal after big claims.
In terms of hitting the ground running at a new club it doesn’t get much better than the performances of Declan Rice for Arsenal and his replacements James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez at West Ham.
It tells you everything about the generational hybrid talent Rice is that West Ham had to sign two players to replace him following his £105m move to Arsenal.
For a long time adequately replacing departing captain Rice seemed a daunting task for the Hammers. Especially given the team struggled in the Premier League last season with him in the side.
New West Ham duo must up their game or embarrass fans in front of Declan Rice on return with Arsenal after big claims
Tim Steidten and David Moyes managed it, though.
While Rice was becoming an instant hit with Gunners fans, West Ham were loving the fast starts made by Ward-Prowse and Alvarez.
But the new West Ham duo must up their game or embarrass fans in front of Rice on his return with Arsenal after big claims.
Ward-Prowse started the season on fire with eight goals and assists in as many games for West Ham.
Ward-Prowse and Alvarez have hit sticky spell at worst possible time
And destroyer Alvarez set his stall out as one of the best and most tenacious defensive midfielders around.
That led to big claims from West Ham fans that the team were much better as a result of Rice’s departure.
Indeed Moyes said the same thing himself in the midst of West Ham’s excellent start to the season.
West Ham fans chanted ‘Are you watching Declan Rice’ as the Hammers beat the likes of Brighton and Chelsea with Ward-Prowse and Alvarez starring.
The problem is both players have hit a sticky spell at the worst possible time ahead of Rice’s return in the Carabao Cup.
Duo must rediscover form to save face for West Ham on Rice return
The duo have been particularly poor in West Ham’s worst week since the dark days of last season.
Ward-Prowse has been very tidy in possession. But he has offered little else in defeats against Villa, Olympiacos and Everton. Rice dominated Ward-Prowse almost every time West Ham played Southampton. And the worry is he could do so again after Mikel Arteta hinted he would play at the London Stadium.
Alvarez started the Everton game like his usual self, getting stuck in, hassling, breaking up and linking play.
But his influence waned, he has been fatiguing in matches and getting caught dawdling on the ball too often. That has been a big reason behind the fact the Mexican has been getting booked frequently too – earning a ban for this weekend’s game against Brentford.
Ward-Prowse and Alvarez are not the only ones in bad form at West Ham of course.
But after being heralded as vast improvements in the Hammers engine room following Rice’s defection to Arsenal, they need to up their game to save face for West Ham fans when he returns.
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