Declan Rice appears to be past caring what West Ham fans think of him after goading them with a social media post following Arsenal’s 2-0 win over his former side.
There has been much written and said about Declan Rice since he pushed to leave West Ham for London rivals Arsenal.
Traditionally both the Hammers and the Gunners have bigger, fiercer rivals.
But the fact Rice made it clear he only wanted to join Arsenal when the likes of Man City and Bayern Munich were interested has always stuck in the craw of West Ham fans who used to adore him.
Make no mistake Arsenal are a far bigger club than West Ham and far more capable of competing for silverware.
Rice had the respect of most West Ham fans until now
But West Ham fans feel Rice’s rationale for joining the Gunners did not add up.
He insisted he wanted to go and win the top trophies in the game.
Over two years since his £105m move from east to north London, though, the only major trophy Rice has won is with West Ham.
Rice burned his bridges with some Hammers fans the day he chose to join Arsenal.
But on the whole, the majority of supporters made peace with the move and held Rice in high regard for what he did at West Ham.
That has been on display in previous meetings between the two clubs where Rice has applauded Hammers fans and been clapped back after the usual pantomime banter during the game.
Another club, like a Brighton or Brentford, would have used the money that transfer brought in to build on the platform the Europa Conference League success provided.
Not West Ham under their current ownership, though.
Instead, the Hammers have gone backwards.
It all adds to the sense of frustration when West Ham supporters have to sit and watch their former hero scoring to help Arsenal beat their side so comfortably they barely broke a sweat.
Rice goads West Ham fans with social post after Arsenal win
Rice was key as he dominated midfield and scored to give Arsenal a first-half lead in a 2-0 victory.
West Ham fans aimed the usual chants at Rice such as ‘You should have signed for a big club’.
Hammers News reported earlier that Rice made his feelings clear to Hammers supporters after scoring.
Now Rice has goaded West Ham fans with a social post after the Arsenal win as the Gunners get childish.
The England midfielder was initially praised by Hammers supporters for showing class by refusing to celebrate his goal.
But it quickly became clear Rice made a point of deliberately staring at the travelling fans and smirking as he ran behind the goal.
Rice then also let out an exaggerated laugh as if to mock the chants aimed at him.
Now he may have tarnished his name among Hammers fans once and for all.
Because the Arsenal star has posted the picture of him staring out West Ham fans and smirking on his Instagram, saying: “Important win going into the break.”
Gunners get childish with Rice music at final whistle
Rice has limited the comments on the post after a predictable backlash from some Hammers supporters.
He wasn’t alone in goading West Ham, though.
The stadium announcer at the Emirates got in on the act too.
As soon as the full-time whistle went on the straightforward win, the Arsenal announcer played Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby, famously rapped by Rice to the words Rice, Rice Baby when he was at West Ham.
It was a childish dig which only serves to prove the point of West Ham fans that Arsenal are not a truly elite club.
If they were they would not get involved in such pettiness with a team they clearly feel is so far beneath them.
West Ham fans must lick their wounds once again as they see Mohammed Kudus assisting and then scoring the winner in Tottenham’s 2-1 victory at Leeds.
Rice will now feel a different level of intensity to the ire of West Ham fans whenever he faces them and what was a good reputation among most Hammers supporters has now been tarnished.
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