Mikel Arteta anticipates a fantastic comeback for Arsenal’s Declan Rice as he faces his old team, West Ham, in the League Cup on Wednesday 1st November 2023 by 20:30pm.
In the recent summer, Rice made a big £105 million move to Arsenal from the London Stadium.
It’s a remarkable return for the English midfielder, who captained West Ham to victory in the Europa Conference League final before leaving the club he’d been a part of since he was 14.
West Ham fans have a history of being unfriendly to former players, like Frank Lampard when he moved to Chelsea and Paul Ince after joining Manchester United.
However, Arsenal manager Arteta believes that Declan Rice, who’s returning to West Ham, will receive a warm welcome.
Arteta thinks it’s a special moment for Rice to go back to his old club and see how they feel about him and what he contributed.
Arteta also hinted that Rice might play in the upcoming match, but he plans to rest other players due to a busy schedule of Premier League and Champions League games.
He added that every time Rice talks about West Ham, he speaks highly of the club, so he hopes the fans will treat him with the same respect.