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Declan Rice has been extremely forthright in his appraisal of life at Arsenal as opposed to West Ham in a major interview with Sky Sports.
The 24 year old’s development at West Ham is well known but he has now chosen to make comparisons between the two clubs and it doesn’t make the best reading for manager David Moyes or the fans.
There were suggestions at West Ham that Declan had called a team meeting in which the squad decided to change the Moyes approach during the game against Nottingham Forest.
And in the interview with Sky and his thoughts on Mikel Arteta he is now indicating that the Arsenal manager runs an entirely different winning approach which is what happened in the defeat of Forest.
He makes no direct comparison between Moyes and the Arsenal boss but sadly it isn’t too difficult to read between the lines as he explains what he has found in his new boss.
He said: “Honestly, from the first moment that I walked through the training ground doors, it was not only the manager, all of the staff, their mindset and mentality is just about winning.
“From the physios to the chefs, to the analysts, everyone behind the scenes, it’s all on that focus of being the best you can be pushing yourself every day to become better, a better person and a better player.
Asked about the differences between the two clubs from a player’s point of view he said: “Yes, it’s crazy. It’s honestly crazy I’m already seeing football in a completely different way.
You think you know football growing up and when you play, but when you meet managers like Mikel, you realise you don’t really know anything about football. There are different styles and different ways of playing that I’ve never experienced before.
“Of course, the way I played at West Ham is completely different to the way Mikel plays, so it’s going to take some time to adapt. But I’m really eager to learn to improve, to ask questions, to do one-to-one training to improve and try and get it as quickly as possible.”
who cares what he thinks??
A very honest guy who speaks from the heart. Just another vindication that Moyes needs to go. His approach to football is not one or most west ham fans ever want to see again. I think the club have very little choice now. We need to back the new DOF even if Moyes does not agree and Moyes needs to put a team that is on the front foot like arteta and not one that focuses on being on the back foot which we have endured for the best part of two seasons.
Judas/traitor. I hope we boo him i certainly will be on Boxing Day but sadly i feel it’s probably 50/50 of people who think he’s a judas and Rice lovies
Am I bovvered? He doesn’t play for my team anymore.
Really, it’s no wonder Declan Rice refused to sign a new contract at West Ham. He wanted to play for a manager who plays attractive, attacking football. And David Moyes is not that type of manager. Far from it. The difference in mentality between Moyes and Arteta is enormous. Had we changed our manager, who knows what could have happened. Maybe we would not have disillusioned players in the ranks. Ok yes, we did win a European trophy but, now that the dust has settled, it’s all kind of bitter sweet. We are stuck with Moyes Ball for another season. And our problems will most likely remain as long as Moyes does.
For a moment I thought I had read a response to an article about Paul Ince. Why is Rice a traitor or Judas? He has chosen to go to another club because he believes he has a better chance of improving and winning things. It is no different if any other working person decides they wish to try something new and that they can improve their own prospects by moving to a competitor. It doesn’t make them a traitor or Judas. WHU have negotiated a good deal for the sale of Rice and if, and that’s a big if, the money is invested wisely then things should be ok. Rice’s decision may be questionable and I’m not convinced he will win that many medals at Arsenal but honestly, he has a better opportunity of success there than at my beloved WHU because of the way they play. The article / report makes interesting reading although there are no new earth shattering claims, it is quite apparent that our Supremo is as stale as an out of date loaf of bread. Yes we won the ECL and I was and still am over the moon about it but our league performances for the past two seasons have been questionable. Yes I think Moyes should be replaced because he will not change and adapt and the current issues around recruitment are worrying but Rice is not a traitor or a Judas. He’s ambitious albeit misguided and I believe he stood a better chance of success if he had gone to Man City. No I won’t be booing Rice on Boxing Day and no I’m not a Rice lovie
You really think he wanted to join Arsenal because of Arteta and if we didn’t have that dinosaur in charge he might have stayed?
If you do then sorry but your delusional.
I just don’t know why he’s forgiven so easily for moving to a rival. He is kissing the badge one night at the final then the next day it’s all about how he wants to join Arsenal.
Of course I’m delusional I support WHU and have done for past 47 years. Your question is not one that I can answered because if Moyes had not been in charge then we don’t know who would have been therefore, we can’t predict whether or not Rice would have stayed or not because you don’t know what could have been offered, where we would have finished in the league, what type of football we’d be playing. What we do know is Moyes is still there, still dithering and no doubt going to continue with his style of football. I can only form my opinion based on what I know, what I read. I do not know Rice or any of his friends and family so cannot claim to know what he wanted. Also bear in mind every other premier league team is a rival. Of course its sad he moved but I stand by my earlier comments in that I don’t see it as treason. Personally, I thought Rice conducted himself very professionally. Time moves on, we are where we are and can’t do anything about it which is sad. New season dawns and fingers crossed it will be better than last season.
At the end of the day- whatever he says he wasn’t/ isn’t a fan. He’s a player and is paid to say what he is told and what he feels.. We may well sl*g off our employers but they still pay our wages. He’s the same. He has gone somewhere he thinks he has a better chance of winning something. He’s got a young kid and didn’t want to uproot to Manchester or wherever. He’s a “Londoner”. When he chose England over Ireland says a lot about the man.
I never believed Rice ever ‘loved’ West Ham. Like all modern players he loves himself and his social media image. The rest is insincere PR nonsense. Mark Noble showed what it means to love this club.
I also think we need to accept that the Rice money will not take us to the ‘next level’. It will be spent on players who will not be here in 5 years time, and will not push us on. To spend it wisely we should be adding 3 young high potential players, and a couple of good current players. But that’s not how we’re approaching this window.