Declan Rice smiles at West Ham fans ‘who give him pelters’ then has the last laugh with a goal to help Arsenal to three points.
Rice smirked at West Ham supporters and later posted about it on Instagram, subsequently turning the comment section off.
Some West Ham fans show appreciation, others however are still frustrated by his £105m move to Arsenal, feeling betrayed.
Arsenal’s stadium announcer also mocked Rice with a playful “Rice, Rice, Baby” reference, further fuelling the tension.
After the game, Rice did go over to shake hugs and hug some of the West Ham staff…
#Westham fans give #DeclanRice pelters as he walked over to take a corner and smiles at them
guess he had the last laugh #COYI #WHUFC #AwayDays pic.twitter.com/4uWmx3xCRB— Richard Dodds (@doddsy35) October 4, 2025
Declan Rice goal against West Ham – view from the stands ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/LrtypJlE8Q
— Rice Rice Baby 🍚 (@RiceRice_baby4) October 5, 2025
Declan Rice’s goal against West Ham. pic.twitter.com/dstKqh5r78
— Rice Rice Baby 🍚 (@RiceRice_baby4) October 6, 2025
Mr DT said: Declan Rice goes and scores, shuts up all the West Ham fans again. I know, whilst there are a lot of West Ham fans that were applauding him and can appreciate him and everything he did for the club, I have absolutely no idea why some West Ham fans boo him.
“This is one of your Academy players that done absolutely everything for you. Gave you one of the greatest nights of your life, lifting a trophy. And for whatever reason you decide to boo him.
“He got you over a hundred million pound in a transfer fee, which you’ve wasted anyway, but that’s not his fault. He was never disrespectful about West Ham.
“He’s never slagged off West Ham. Even when he went back to your Olympic Stadium, whatever that place is and scored, he never disrespected you. I don’t get it. Maybe a West Ham fan that does boo him.
“Let me know the reason why you booing because it doesn’t make sense to me. It really doesn’t and I understand when a player leaves that you might not like them and whatever the situation is, I can understand why Newcastle don’t like Isak because of everything that surrounded it but that’s not Declan Rice.
“Never once forced to transfer, never once disrespected the club, done absolutely everything and then gets booed.
“And that’s why when he scored, I liked the fact that he was just looking over and looking over as if to say, something now.”
@lumjohn1 What a beautiful gesture from Declan Rice pure class! 🙌 #foryou #creatorsearchinsight #football #arsenal #PremierLeague #uefachampionsleague #Emirates ♬ original sound – lumjohn1
View this post on Instagram
I still don’t understand why West Ham fans boo Declan Rice. Am I missing something here? What’s he done wrong?
👉🏼 https://t.co/j7zs88oRCT 📺 pic.twitter.com/qsrDKnj8Em
— MR DT (@MrDtAFC) October 4, 2025
As mentioned, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka seal a 2-0 win for Arsenal over West Ham to put the Gunners top of the table.
West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “We’ve had two tough games away from home against very good teams.
“Now is the moment to analyse but with all the changes that has been happening I feel the players are responding and trying and that pleases me the most.
“The international break will be important for all of us especially for the players to be calm, there’s been many changes and many noises around us. This is our priority – that we know each other as a group because it is basically our unity and fight for each other [that we need].
“Honestly all the game we were under pressure. Arsenal were on top of us. We didn’t have the chance to control or go forward.
“We defend well somethings but mistakes in position. We knew it would be tough. But the boys worked hard and kept fighting. We have to start somewhere and that was the priority, how we compete.”
On the positives he saw: “For the boys it’s been hard these couple of weeks. Discipline, organisation, resilience. It’s basics in football. The attitude was there.”
On the international break coming at the right time: “We have a lot of things (to work on) but the break will be good for all of us, especially the players. To rest their heads. It’s a moment to settle down and then to start working.”
Nuno speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: “That was not a good performance. We knew it was going to be tough, we were facing a good team. In moments we were organised and compact we made it tough for Arsenal. We didn’t quite have the chance to have a breather and get forward, but no discussion about the result.
“We have to start somewhere and our priority is that we can be better each game, have more togetherness, more unity, more desire – a lot of things.
“In the Everton game we had shots, we had more of the ball and were able to keep it better. Today the movements going forward were not really there. We need better mobility to find the gaps.
“It’s hard on me yes but it is much harder on the players. There are changes with philosophy etcetera and they are required to adapt. What is important now is having the break to settle down, ignore the noise and move forward together with training sessions and meetings.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the victory: “Very happy. We knew it would be a tough match. Three games in seven days and two very intense games before this. Very happy.”
On learning from previous defeats by West Ham: “When we played Newcastle we said we had to learn from the past and the scars we had in that stadium. Today as well we lost the previous two at the Emirates (against West Ham) but we won today and fully deserved it.”
On Odegaard’s injury: “With Martin it was a clash knee to knee. It’s not looking very positive at the moment.”
On Rice’s substitution: “With Declan he was struggling with back pain and he asked me to come off. Lett’s see what the doctor says now and what is best for him.”
On Saka scoring on his 200th appearance: “It’s exceptional what he’s doing at his age. The impact he has on those matches, it’s very difficult to do I’m very happy for him. He’s super consistent and willing to learn constantly. He finds ways to find goals. He will grow and become more mature. Hopefully he’ll keep impacting the team.”
Arteta, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “To go top of the table after some big fixtures over the last week and some injuries, we got some today but we were able to respond.
“We dominated and fully deserved to win this. We had some big, big chances we didn’t put away.
“The players who came on contributed to maintaining the standards. Let’s look forward to the international break.”
On Martin Odegaard injury: “So unlucky again. He went knee to knee and felt straight away something was not right. Let’s assess him and see how bad the injury is. He has been very, very unlucky.”
On Bukayo Saka and his 200th PL appearance for Arsenal: “It has been an incredible journey together. The way he has done it is special. He is loved by everybody and the numbers he is creating are incredible at his age – so much more to come from him.”
This is how Twitter users reacted as Declan Rice smiles at West Ham fans ‘who give him pelters’ then has the last laugh…
Rice goading West Ham fans after he scored pic.twitter.com/2JcNzYHuFh
— Central (@WestHam_Central) October 5, 2025
Let’s put aside the fantasy of WHU fans being proper fans given what Rice did for their club. The best part of this is;
a) the incredible self-own to recognise you’re NOT a big club
b) the little looks he gave you all when he smashed the ball into the net right infront of you all pic.twitter.com/LdhQRq6WYk— ⚫ Why Always You ⚪ (@pls_do_better) October 5, 2025
@DaleSmith464322: Y did we boo dec man this where r fans go wrong. what more could he done u can only blame the owners for him going
@OsmanZtheGooner: That look by Declan Rice towards West Ham fans after scoring 🤣
@jamesdowning191: I think Declan looks disappointed by some of the things directed at him. He gave everything for us when he was with us. He moved due to lack of investment in our squad. Blame Sullivan not Declan #BSOUT
@eze_quisite: Gave the away fans the eyes when he scored too, he’s proper Arsenal.
@JosephPetrassi: They do it everytime with Rice only to get shushed
@robinhoodbaas: Declan Rice lovely guy. When he left West Ham he did it with so much respect to his former club. Now when he took a corner in front of their fans they abused him. Why. No point in not celebrating his goal because they showed him no respect
@andyrayner9: I couldn’t agree more. He’s moved on, it’s about time we gave him pelters. There’s no such thing as loyalty in professional sports
@Daily_DC_Planet: We all new rice was going he made it clear and gave us ll time to accept it, I don’t hold any ill regard to him, like moyes I’m greatful for the good times now time to move on and not sound like some clingy Ex girlfriend.
@Misswhu42milli1: Couldn’t give a fuck if Declan rice celebrates or not , he’s not a West Ham player anymore , people are so sensitive the worlds actually full of wet wipes ⚒️
@dandhj2: As a ⚒️ I’m embarrassed
@de11boy: West Ham never owned Rice BUT Rice owns West Ham! The definition of “rent free”. Next time don’t hold back Dec, show them what it means to celebrate!
@_Kieran__91: Shame no one has a video of West Ham fans reaction to Rice scoring
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