West Ham fans have poked fun at their former midfielder Declan Rice during their 2-0 victory against Arsenal on Thursday night.
Arsenal missed out on the chance to leapfrog Liverpool and retake first place at the top of the Premier League, with Liverpool sitting two points ahead of them after their win against Burnely in midweek.
But it was a tough evening for Arsenal, and Rice, who gave away a penalty in the sixth minute of added time against his old club after bringing down Emerson Palmieri inside the penalty area.
The 24-year-old appeared to slip on the wet surface, before wildly lunging in to trip the West Ham defender who had advanced into the Arsenal penalty area.
Referee Michael Oliver subsequently pointed to the spot, sending the Hammers fans behind the goal into delirium, with some proceeding to brutally mock their former midfielder by singing his name.
West Ham fans mocked Declan Rice during their 2-0 victory against Arsenal on Thursday
The ex-Hammers midfielder conceded a penalty in the sixth minute of injury time after bringing down Emerson Palmieri inside the Arsenal box
‘Declan, Declan Rice’: They shouted as Said Benrahma picked up the ball and prepared to take the penalty.
Fortunately for Rice, the West Ham forward could not convert to the spot-kick, with David Raya producing an excellent diving save to deny the Irons a third goal.
Since his landmark £105million move to Arsenal in the summer, Rice has been pivotal for Mikel Arteta’s side and could help them achieve silverware this season after the Gunners fell short in the 2022-23 campaign.
Thursday was the second time Rice has lost against his former club, since his departure, after the Gunners suffered a 3-1 defeat in the EFL Cup earlier this season.
Rice has made 27 appearances for Arsenal returning three goals and two assists across all compeitions so far this season, and Arteta lumped praise on the midfielder earlier this week, claiming that he was right to ‘go mad’ to sign the midfielder.
‘I love his presence on the pitch’ he said of Rice. ‘He’s there and he’s got something special. I felt it when I played against him, that’s why I was mad to sign him.’
‘You get a feeling about players and I wanted him to be part of our team.
‘When they put the price tag you have to carry that and it is not easy. He has done it in a brilliant way.’
Rice, who moved to Arsenal in a £105m move last summer from West Ham, was lauded by his manager Mikel Arteta in midweek
The Gunners went a goal down in controversial circumstances after the ball appeared to go out of play in the build-up to Tomas Soucek’s opener
The decision had left Arteta seething, with the Spaniard calling VAR technology ‘not good enough’
West Ham, meanwhile, are in red-hot form having recorded back-to-back wins against Manchester United and Arsenal, with Tomas Soucek putting the visitors a goal up after 13 minutes.
It was a goal that sparked much controversy, with Arteta once again hitting out at VAR after the ball had appeared to go out of play before Jarrod Bowen passed it back to Soucek who hammered it into the Arsenal goal.
‘If the technology we have at the moment is not good enough to give us that answer (of whether the ball went out), what we have to do is, without that, win the game,’ the Arsenal boss said after the match.
‘I haven’t seen it. They’re saying it’s not conclusive. It’s a shame that with the technology we have, it’s not that clear so we can say whether it’s out or in.’
‘It’s done. It’s gone. There’s nothing we can do about it now.’
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