West Ham beat Arsenal to all but end their title hopes and their fans rubbed salt in the wound for old pals Manchester City in more ways than one.
West Ham and Man City enjoy a close bond dating back nearly four decades.
That was on show when West Ham lost 3-1 at the Etihad on the final day of last season.
The travelling Hammers fans joined in Man City’s celebrations as it stopped Arsenal winning the Premier League title.
Two clubs and sets of fans getting along is increasingly rare in the modern game.
So the special relationship between West Ham and Man City certainly stands out.
Traditionally, West Ham have never shared a great rivalry with Arsenal.
But since Declan Rice chose to sign for the Gunners over Manchester City when leaving the Hammers, that has changed.
The Irons and Manchester City are two clubs very much of the working class.
Man City will love how West Ham fans trolled Arsenal
West Ham don’t have a great deal in common with the Blue Moon winning machine nowadays.
Historically, though, the two club rivals have spent much of their existence living in the shadows of rivals.
Fans of both clubs celebrated one another’s European triumphs two years ago.
The bond actually dates back to a famous game between the Hammers and City in 1987.
West Ham’s London rivals Arsenal have shared an intense rivalry with Man City in recent years.
The ‘stay humble’ saga which started when Erling Haaland uttered those immortal words to Mikel Arteta still rumbles on.
Arsenal goaded Haaland with those same words when beating Man City recently.
Erling Haaland approves as Hammers humble Gunners
Although that somewhat missed the point because Haaland, having won pretty much everything at the age of 24, doesn’t need to stay humble.
West Ham pulled off another damaging win over the Gunners at the Emirates on Saturday.
The Hammers derailed Arsenal’s title hopes last season with a 2-0 win in their own back yard.
Now they’ve done it again courtesy of a Jarrod Bowen winner and thanks to West Ham’s indisputable Hammer of the Year.
Man City will love how West Ham fans trolled Arsenal – and Haaland approves.
In fact West Ham channelled their Man City connections in more ways than one to rib the Gunners over the victory.
Haaland likes West Ham fans goading Gunners
Rice was jeered and serenaded with the chant “You should have signed for a big club” in reference to turning down Man City for Arsenal.
Irons fans also used a Man City chant to sing: “Second again ole, ole, second again ole, ole, second again, second again, second again ole, ole”.
Some Hammers fans then put on a humbling celebration to toast the victory.
Myles Lewis-Skelly caused controversy when he mocked Haaland’s meditation celebration after scoring against Man City in a 5-1 win earlier this month.
Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a foul on Mohammed Kudus during West Ham’s win.
And Hammers fans responded by doing Haaland’s famous celebration outside the Emirates, with the caption “Stay humble mate”.
The post quickly went viral with over one million views in a few hours.
And sensationally Haaland himself has liked it, much to the amusement of the West Ham fans who posted it.
https://x.com/fab_dagnano1/status/1893470745239368011West Ham have been mercilessly goaded by some Arsenal supporters since they signed Rice.
Previously, the Hammers and Gunners were united over a mutual dislike of the other team from north London.
But the way many at Arsenal have acted since taking away West Ham’s homegrown captain has lit a small fire under this particular London derby.
So the Gunners have to suck this one up and have a taste of their own medicine.
Because they have been all too ready to dish it out after 6-0 and 5-2 wins at the London Stadium the last two times the sides have met.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
