Declan Rice makes his return to the London Stadium once again as he joins Arsenal in taking on his former side West Ham.
The Arsenal record transfer signing has impressed since his £105million move from the Hammers, offering plenty in all phases of play.
Declan Rice has often been used in the defensive midfield role by Mikel Arteta, but there have been chances to play him slightly further forward too.
The England international has landed plenty of assists, especially from set-pieces, while an increase in goal output has also put silenced plenty of doubts about him and his price tag.
That said, his move to Arsenal wasn’t all that popular with the West Ham fans, who gave plenty of stick to the midfielder on his return to the club last season.
As he prepares for another performance in front of his old fans, Rice has already explained how he feels about them and the banter aimed at him.
Declan Rice on West Ham fans and chants at Arsenal
Rice will be relatively used to the chants he receives from the West Ham fans, having faced off against them twice in the Premier League and once in the domestic cups over the past year.
The midfielder even scored in the latest clash, which ended 6-0 to Arsenal, but he had rather mooted celebrations against them.
Speaking back in March, Rice revealed his feelings over the situation as he spoke to ESPN, saying: “It was so tough.
“We lost in the cup to them. We lost in the league at the Emirates; I didn’t play well and gave away a penalty.
“The West Ham fans bantered me and I can 100 per cent take that; I played for West Ham for 10 years and I know how they work.
“When I went over to take the corner, there were a few boos, but there were claps as well.
“I know my love for them has never changed; their love for me has never changed.
“It is one of those things where you move on. Obviously I scored a great goal, it was really odd.”
- READ MORE: Arsenal expert predictions for West Ham clash including goal scorers, key players and more
Declan Rice at West Ham and Arsenal compared
Many may look to compare how good Rice was at West Ham to how good he is now for Arsenal and a few things are clear.
One is just how many more goals and assists he is getting, with Rice embarrassing Roy Keane, who claimed he didn’t have enough goal output to justify his price.
With a move to a better team, at a better place in the table, the midfielder has clearly shown he is capable of it in the right set-up.
| Club | West Ham | Arsenal |
| Appearances | 245 | 66 |
| Goals | 15 | 8 |
| Assists | 13 | 13 |
He will be looking to add to those stats above against his former side, though it’s unclear how he may react to scoring.
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