Declan Rice puts Arsenal first on West Ham return

Declan Rice goes back to the London Stadium with Arsenal still in the Premier League title race and West Ham in the relegation zone after losing 3-0 to Brentford. Manchester City will play Brentford at home on Saturday evening, so Arsenal will know that result before kick-off. Rice has made it clear that the emotion of the return will not change his job on Sunday.

Why Rice is setting sentiment aside

Rice has plenty of reason to feel the occasion. He said, “Without West Ham there is no me. They gave me a chance when Chelsea didn't. Not nice to see the position they are in.” But the tone shifted quickly to the present tense, and to the task in front of him.

“It is football and I have a job to do on Sunday. It is the business end of the season,” Rice said. He also called the match “a massive one” despite Arsenal already reaching the Champions League final after beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on the night to win 2-1 on aggregate.

That is the more relevant point here. Rice is not treating this like a sentimental lap around old ground. He is treating it like a league game in a title race, and the quotes back that up.

Rice has also been in strong form, with a 7.32 average rating across his last five Arsenal matches and 428 minutes played in that spell. He has also made 34 Premier League appearances this season, so this is not a player being managed around the margins. He is central to Arsenal's run-in.

What the reunion means for West Ham

The fixture lands badly for West Ham, whether you describe their situation as being in the relegation zone or as being 18th with 36 points after 35 matches. Either way, the picture is bleak. Rice said it was “not nice to see the position they are in,” and that part of his reaction feels genuine enough.

There is also the football side of it. Rice scored in Arsenal's 2-0 win over West Ham in the reverse fixture earlier this season, and he scored again at the London Stadium in Arsenal's 6-0 win there in the 2023-24 campaign. Those are not the details of a player easing into a reunion. They are the details of one of Arsenal's most important players who has already hurt his old club twice.

Arsenal remain top of the league with 76 points after 35 matches, while Manchester City are second on 71 points from 34 games. The gap is still live, not settled, and that is why Rice's line about focus matters more than the nostalgia around the fixture.

Rice respects West Ham. He has not pretended otherwise. But he has also been blunt enough to say his job comes first, and that is the right stance for Arsenal at this stage of the season.