"People do not understand" - Ian Wright explains why Arsenal star struggled in the Gunners' loss to West Ham
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has explained why Declan Rice didn't have the best game against his former club West Ham United in the midweek. The Gunners suffered a costly 2-0 defeat to the Hammers at the Emirates which saw them lose the top spot in the table to Liverpool.
Declan Rice has been ultra-consistent for Arsenal this season following his reported £105 million move from West Ham United in the summer. However, he struggled to make his mark against his former side.
Ian Wright has defended the England international and insisted that the midfielder tried too hard to ensure that he does not make a mistake. He claimed that players feel a lot of pressure when they are against their former club and in case of Rice, he has spent a decade with West Ham United.
Rice has played only for the Hammers at club level before his move to Arsenal and also captained the side for a significant period. Wright said on the Wrighty’s House podcast, as claimed by TBR Football:
“Watching Declan Rice yesterday, there are a couple of things. People are going on about Declan Rice yesterday. People do not understand.
"Firstly, his connection with West Ham, what he has done for them, the fact that there is so much love in the whole situation and West Ham, I felt the same with Palace until Palace (fans) started f*****g slaughtering me and singing terrible songs about my mum and everything."
The former Gunners hero added:
“What people do not understand about Declan and playing against them, in form and at home, emotionally and mentally, it is really really tough. It’s really tough. I wouldn’t say he was trying harder, but he was probably trying harder to not do anything wrong.”
Rice completed 100/107 passes against West Ham, won nine of his 11 duels, made four tackles, and one interception, and lost possession 10 times. He also gave away a penalty in stoppage time, which Said Benrahma failed to convert.
Regardless, Rice has been excellent for Arsenal this season following his big-money switch in the summer. The Englishman has taken the Gunners midfield to the next level and has also contributed with three goals and two assists in 27 games across competitions.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry opens up on Premier League title race this season
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes that the Premier League will be hugely difficult to win this season because of the competition.
The former France international has claimed that the Premier League is not the same as it was during his playing days. Henry pointed out that Arsenal and Manchester United were the two dominant sides in the Premier League back in his days before Chelsea emerged as title contenders.
However, Henry reckons that it is effectively a four-horse race this season as he told Amazon Prime, as quoted by Goal:
“In my time, it was two teams (Arsenal and Manchester United) that could have won it and then Chelsea came along. Now when you look at it, Liverpool are in it, [Aston] Villa are in it, although no one expected them to be."
The 1998 World Cup winner added:
"Let’s be honest, they played a Manchester United side where it was do or die in the second half so they had to answer that call. You are not going to kill Villa with what has happened recently. What they have been doing is tremendous and the league is more difficult to win.”
After a defeat against West Ham United, Arsenal now find themselves two points behind leaders Liverpool and one point ahead of Aston Villa. Manchester City are three points behind the Gunners with a game in hand.