Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta could be back to haunt West Ham United yet again, after taking Declan Rice from us last summer.
Declan Rice left West Ham to join Arsenal in a £105 million deal eight months ago, and he has been a huge hit at the Emirates.
Whilst Dec seems to have found a new level entirely with the Gunners this season, he recently explained how his fine form is nothing new, and insisted that he was doing the same things for years during his time with the Hammers.
Rice is undoubtedly one of the very best central midfielders in world football, and despite the fact that David Moyes brought Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse to the London Stadium to replace the 25-year-old, we quite obviously still miss him.
The Arsenal man has a genuine chance to win the Premier League and the Champions League this season, and good luck to him. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t happy with certain ways that he conducted himself before he left us to join the Gunners.
Many Hammers fans weren’t happy with the way in which Dec left the London Stadium either, after claims of him meeting Mikel Arteta back in January 2023 (The Mirror) and conversations with Kai Havertz about moving to the Emirates long before he swapped East London for North London.
However, what’s done is done now and plenty of water has passed under the bridge. In the cold light of day, it’s hard not to admit just how good the England international midfielder was for us.
And just as many of us have started to get over losing Dec, the Gunners could be set to deal us a very big blow yet again…
After signing Declan Rice, Arsenal could hurt West Ham again
Hammers fans should brace themselves ahead of the summer transfer window.
That’s because the Daily Star are claiming that the Gunners are lining up a summer move to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest – a player who Moyes allegedly wants to bring to the London Stadium.
The Telegraph reckon that Forest will demand at least £50 million for the 24-year-old former Wolves star, and those demands instantly give Arsenal an advantage over West Ham due to their far superior spending power.
The fact that they’ll be able to offer him Champions League football as well puts them well ahead of us in the race for his signature, as far as I’m concerned.
Missing out on Gibbs-White to the Gunners would be a major blow for us – he’d be an absolutely sensational signing for West Ham, and he’s just what we need at the London Stadium, especially if Lucas Paqueta leaves.
Since joining Nottingham Forest from Wolves for £42 million in the summer of 2022 (Sky Sports), the 24-year-old has proven to be a huge hit at the City Ground.
The former Wolves ace has racked up four goals and five assists in 33 games in all competitions for Forest so far this season (Transfermarkt), and has created 10 big chances for his teammates this term (Premier League website) – the third most out of anyone playing for clubs outside of the top eight.
Gibbs-White can play pretty much anywhere along the frontline. He’s at his best when deployed in the number 10 role, although he can also be utilised in an orthodox central midfield position, or on either wing. The former Wolves man has rapid pace, energy, dynamism and athleticism in abundance.
The Forest star is a good finisher, a really imaginative creator and he has the ability to completely change a game with a moment of magic – just ask Forest and Wolves fans.
He’s the kind of player who would be a hero amongst the Hammers fans, but our hopes of signing him have clearly taken a huge hit.
And after losing Declan Rice to Arsenal last summer, the north London outfit could be set to strike yet another blow to West Ham this year as well.
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