Jack Wilshere pulled no punches as he interrupted Martin Keown during coverage of Arsenal’s Champions League exit, calling out his West Ham claim about Declan Rice.
Former Hammers and Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere is a boyhood West Ham fan.
While Wilshere is loved by supporters of Arsenal, where he came through the academy, he had a difficult relationship with the Hammers, where he was released early from his contract after an injury-plagued spell.
Wilshere has often criticised West Ham in the press since his departure.
And he even admitted telling Declan Rice to join Arsenal before the £105m move back in 2023.
Wilshere interrupts Keown to defend Rice’s West Ham credentials
But Wilshere felt compelled to respond when Gunners legend Martin Keown made comments about Rice and West Ham during a live TV broadcast as Arsenal’s Champions League dream died.
When Rice left West Ham for Arsenal, he angered many Hammers supporters by declaring he wanted to win the top trophies in football.
While the Gunners clearly have more of a chance of competing for those honours than the Hammers, supporters felt Rice was giving up legend status in east London for a club who are by no means a sure thing when it comes to silverware.
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Especially when Man City were also in for Rice too – and went on to win everything in the midfielder’s first season after swapping West Ham for Arsenal.
Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images
Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images
Since Rice’s move from east to north London nearly two years ago, the rivalry between the two clubs has intensified.
Primarily as a result of Arsenal fans relentlessly goading their West Ham counterparts.
So West Ham fans understandably enjoyed playing their part in ending Arsenal’s title bid two years running with victories at The Emirates.
Keown reignites Rice debate between Arsenal and West Ham
And there was little sympathy from most in claret and blue when Rice and Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League in the semi-final against PSG overnight.
There has been a narrative in north London that Rice has only become world-class since leaving West Ham for Arsenal.
That put noses out of joint at West Ham, where Rice had earned a reputation as one of the best midfielders around with his performances for the Hammers and England.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Rice himself have distanced themselves from that debate in the past.
Most West Ham fans have always felt Rice is the same player he was with them, but was now playing in a better team, surrounded by better players.
Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images
Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images
Wilshere makes it clear Rice was already elite before Arsenal
That reared its head again during TNT Sports’ coverage of Arsenal vs PSG.
And Wilshere shut down Keown over his West Ham take on Rice as Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League.
Keown was trying to take the positives out of Arsenal’s 3-1 aggregate defeat to PSG when he suggested that Rice has become a much better player since leaving West Ham for the Gunners.
Keown stated Rice has improved on and with the ball under Arteta.
But Wilshere, who played with Rice at West Ham, jumped in on Keown, interrupting his comments to state Rice was just as good on the ball when he was with the Hammers.
That echoes what Rice himself has said about that particular narrative.
As the England midfielder won plaudits in his debut season with Arsenal, Rio Ferdinand revealed what Rice told him about his performances for West Ham compared to the Gunners.
“I was doing the same thing at West Ham and no one wanted to speak about it,” Rice told Ferdinand.
Interestingly, West Ham sporting director Mark Noble also had his say on whether Rice has improved since joining Arsenal.