West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has lavished praise on his predecessor Declan Rice ahead of Sunday’s clash with Arsenal.
Bowen and Dec enjoyed an excellent relationship during Rice’s time at the club, as anyone who saw him leading a chorus of “Bowen’s on fire” will testify.
Rice left West Ham for Arsenal in a record £105m British transfer deal, and the biggest compliment you can give the former skipper is that he’s been worth every penny.
In truth, had he moved anywhere other than north London, there would probably be a lot more goodwill towards him. Personally, I hope he has a stinker for the Gunners — but I’m still grateful for everything he did in claret and blue.
Bowen Full Of Praise For Old Captain
As for Bowen, he really could not speak more highly of his old mate, as the pair have spent the week sharing compliments and blowing smoke up each other’s rear ends.
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“We had a great time,” Bowen confirmed. “Dec’s a great teammate but, off the pitch, more importantly, he’s a really good friend.
“Everyone was sad to see him go. No-one wants anyone to leave their football club when we achieved so much, but he’s gone on and gone to show his quality and to be spoken about as one of the best midfielders in the world, which I know a lot of West Ham fans were saying about him at the time here and no-one ever believed them.
“But I think, as he’s gone on, people have started to open their eyes and realise how good a player that he is with what he’s gone on to do, scoring big goals and having big games for Arsenal. He’s gone on and stepped up another level again, which says a lot about him as well. He’s always demanding more of himself and is a brilliant, brilliant player.
“He was captain when we lifted a trophy and he’s going to get a good reception because people respect him as a player and as a person, but obviously we don’t wish him well for when we play him because we want to win!”
Friendly Words… But Don’t Be Fooled
All very nice — but let’s be honest, there’s a bit of gamesmanship in all of this.
Keep it respectful, keep it friendly, and don’t give the opposition any unnecessary motivation.
We saw something similar last week when Keith Andrews praised Nuno Espírito Santo’s tactics before Brentford went on to beat West Ham 3-0.
So whilst Bowen and Rice can exchange pleasantries all week long, come Sunday, I hope Nuno and the boys are going to be relatively unpleasant. Because Mikel Arteta’s team are a bunch of bully boys who also happen to be technically gifted . . . they won’t give an inch and neither should we.