West Ham fans labelled an ‘absolute disgrace’ ahead of Arsenal star Declan Rice’s return

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Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is set to return to the London Stadium this evening for the first time since leaving West Ham United.

Declan Rice joined Arsenal in a club-record £105 million move in the recent summer transfer window. Prior to this switch, he was West Ham captain and a fan-favourite at the east London club.

Mikel Arteta has already made it clear that Rice is likely to feature against his former club in Wednesday evening’s EFL Cup clash between the two sides. Rice will be hoping for a warm reception from the Hammers faithful.

However, former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy is concerned that the 24-year-old will be booed by home supporters at the London Stadium. Discussing West Ham fans who may be planning to boo the 46-cap England star on talkSPORT, Cundy said, “if you boo Declan Rice, then you are an absolute disgrace to your club.”

“You know what’s really annoyed me about West Ham fans is that they bigged him up, ‘Oh, we want £100 million. We want £110 million. We aren’t letting him go for this’…Yet, when he leaves, all the West Ham fans come crawling back, when they started the season well, ‘we are a better team without him’. I am like, ‘No, you are not’…have some respect.”

A wave of love and hate on its way for Declan Rice

Of course, it isn’t unusual for fans to boo a player who used to play for them when he returns with another club. However, it would be difficult for any West Ham fan to begrudge Rice his move to Arsenal, given he is now able to play Champions League football and seriously compete for the game’s major honours. 

Arsenal fans will certainly get behind Rice tonight. The midfielder has been a revelation at the north London club since his arrival, immediately settling in like a natural fit in the middle of the park for Arteta’s side. 

There is a good chance, though, that the former West Ham man won’t be named in the Gunners’ starting line up. Arteta is likely to rotate heavily for this fixture, and the likes of Jorginho or Mohamed Elneny could be used in the deep-lying midfield role. Rice may well have to satisfy himself with a cameo from the bench, given he needs to be fresh for the Premier League trip to Newcastle United on Saturday.