It was a night to forget for Declan Rice against his former club as West Ham put on a counter-attack clinic to win 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Tomas Soucek put the Hammers in front in the first half when Jarrod Bowen managed to keep the ball in play at the byline and find the Czech international who fired it into an empty goal.
Then in the second half, former Arsenal centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos came back to haunt the Gunners as the Greek international sprung in the air to meet James Ward-Prowse’s effortless corner delviery to make it 2-0.
Another highlight of the night came when Brazilian left-back Emerson tricked his way past his former teammate Rice, who could not get anywhere near him after being misdirected with wonderful trickery.
Emerson sending Declan out for a hot dog x pic.twitter.com/lMHWBfREph
— West Ham Xtra (@WestHamXtra) December 28, 2023
Rice also compounded his miserable game when he conceded a penalty right in front of the away supporters that once adored him. Luckily for the midfielder, David Raya was able to save Said Benrahma’s penalty in the final seconds of the game.
Rice has always been a bit of a baby when it comes to the hard lines, and I think it showed through tonight, he just couldn’t cope with all. When he was a hammer he always looked and tried to stand out as the main man, at the Arse, I reckon he will be moved into the back 5 for his defence/counter attack potential