Declan Rice was initially praised for refusing to celebrate after scoring for Arsenal in their 2-0 win over West Ham, but his subtle reaction showed his old fans what he thinks of their taunts.
Over two years on from selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for a whopping £105m, there is no denying West Ham have gone backwards.
The Hammers have not come remotely close to replacing the qualities Rice brought to their midfield.
Only now, with the additions of Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa have they even given themselves a chance.
Meanwhile, Rice has established himself as arguably Arsenal’s most important player, just as he was at West Ham.
Rice scores as Arsenal put West Ham deeper in the mire
And just as Hammers fans said he would when many Gunners supporters were questioning Rice’s price tag.
Rice burned his bridges with some of the Hammers faithful by pushing to join Arsenal over the likes of Man City and Bayern Munich.
It also emerged he had held talks with Mikel Arteta six months before the move, sparking further anger.
Gunners fans have mercilessly goaded West Ham over the fact that they swooped to snatch away their beloved homegrown captain.
West Ham have understandably taken great relish in playing their part in halting Arsenal’s title bid two years running with victories at The Emirates.
But there would be no repeat under Nuno Espirito Santo, thanks in no small part to Rice’s goal and dominance.
Rice upset West Ham fans when he described his two free-kicks in the Champions League for Arsenal as the best moment of his career – despite leading the Hammers to Europa Conference League glory.
Rice has always remained classy when talking about West Ham.
And he refused to celebrate when he scored in a 6-0 win for Arsenal at the London Stadium last year.
Rice has also previously said West Ham will always be in his heart.
The England midfielder has certainly shown more respect to the Hammers than others who have left in the past such as Frank Lampard.
Rice lets West Ham fans know what he thinks of taunts
Things may have taken a turn in the relationship, though.
Because Rice may not have celebrated his goal for Arsenal against the Hammers but he let West Ham fans know what he thinks of their taunts.
West Ham were hanging on against the Gunners when an Alphonse Areola save bounced into Rice’s path as he arrived in the box.
The former Hammers favourite cushioned a side-footed finish into an unguarded net to give Arsenal a lead they never looked like surrendering.
It came after Rice was taunted with jeers and goaded by the travelling West Ham fans with chants such as ‘You should have signed for a big club’.
For many fans, singling out Rice doesn’t go much further than banter and the kind of treatment anyone who pushes for a move to a London rival should expect.
It was certainly a lot tamer than previous meetings and nothing on the treatment Mohammed Kudus received after his move to Spurs.
Rice didn’t celebrate his goal and was initially praised by West Ham fans for showing class, yet again.
Smirking Rice may have changed Hammers relations forever
But what many didn’t spot was that Rice made several deliberate stares and smirks at the Hammers fans in the corner as he ran behind the goal.
And as he did so he let out an exaggerated laugh as if to mock the chants aimed at him.
Some would say if fans want to dish it out then they have to be prepared to take some back.
Others will argue Rice, as a former West Ham captain, must accept such treatment and not react if he wants to maintain good relations with his old club long-term.
Things did not end well for Rice as he went off with a back injury after a crunching tackle from Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Whether his mocking stare and laughter taint Rice’s reputation among West Ham fans for good remains to be seen.
One look at social media suggests it has.
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