Mikel Arteta believes Declan Rice’s West Ham United return will be a ‘beautiful moment’
Mikel Arteta has said that he expects Declan Rice’s return to West Ham United to be a “beautiful moment” when Arsenal travel to the London Stadium.
The Hammers face Arsenal for the first time since Rice made the switch to the Emirates for £105million this summer [Sky Sports, 17 July], when the two sides meet in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday 1 November.
David Moyes’ side are in desperate need of a win having lost their last three outings in all competitions while Arsenal head to East London having only lost once all season and Arteta hopes that the home crowd will give Rice a good reception.
Speaking in a press conference as relayed by Sky Sports (31 October) he said: “He’s fit and can be involved. It will be his first time back at his old club and a beautiful moment I think for him. Had the experience to do it a few times and then you really see what they think of you and what you left at the club.
“It’s a really good way to measure your experience and your reality within the reality of the people that share moments with you. Every time you hear him talk about West Ham and what they did for him and everybody at the club, he cannot talk any higher, so hopefully they will be the same way towards him.”
Beautiful moment
It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Rice gets when he returns to West Ham on Wednesday as his tenure in East London was undoubtedly a success, given he captained the Hammers to their Europa Conference League win in his final season.
Some will view the midfielder as a modern-day Hammers legend, while others will remain slightly irritated that he left the Irons for a rival London club, but overall he has to remain highly thought of given just how much he achieved in a claret and blue shirt.
West Ham received an excellent fee for the England international and have managed to rebuild their midfield from top to bottom with the money that the Gunners gave them to sign Rice, so all in all, this seems to have been a move that suits all parties involved.
Nobody is expecting a guard of honour or a firework show to mark his return, but a quick moment of applause from the home crowd to remember one of the club’s most recent legends, especially given how highly Rice has spoken about the club since he departed the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, one report has suggested that Moyes will be sacked should the Hammers lose six games in a row