Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice returned to London Stadium last night for the first time since he left West Ham United in the summer, and he got a mixed reaction from the fans.
The England international was applauded by some and booed by others when his name was read out and when he came on in the second-half.
The Hammers had the last laugh as they dumped Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup after securing a 3-1 win in the fourth round on Wednesday night.
Nevertheless, Rice was pleased to have returned to his former club, and he has since taken to social media platform Instagram to send a message to both sets of supporters.
The 24-year-old was introduced in the 57th minute with Arsenal already 2-0 down, and Jarrod Bowen compounded their woes by making it 3-0 three minutes later.
Rice could not do anything to inspire the Gunners to a comeback, and Martin Odegaard’s 96th-minute goal only served as a consolation.
The former West Ham captain spent seven seasons with the Irons after two years in their youth ranks, and he established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League before sealing a move to Arsenal some months ago.
He did not deserve to be booed after the services he rendered to the club, but as Hammers manager David Moyes pointed out, the fans that chose to boo him could have done so to put him off for the game.
It did not appear that the jeers fazed him, but Rice could not influence proceedings as he would have wanted, with West Ham proving too much to handle for their former captain.
Arsenal return to action on Saturday with a trip to St James Park to face Newcastle United, and they will be keen to return to winning ways and maintain their unbeaten start to the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.
