Declan Rice's honest comments on Arsenal last season go viral ahead of West Ham reunion

Arsenal star Declan Rice is preparing to face former club West Ham in the Premier League on Thursday - and his past comments on the Gunners have re-emerged.

Rice became the most expensive English player in football history when he made the £105 million move across London this summer.

And the England star has hit the ground running at the Emirates Stadium, establishing himself as a key player for manager Mikel Arteta at the heart of the Gunners midfield.

Speaking to Channel 4 after his arrival, Rice admitted that it was the prospect of working under Arteta that convinced him to switch to Arsenal amid links with Manchester City and Chelsea.

And his opinion on the Gunners was clear last season, when he was interviewed by Amazon Prime following his West Ham side's 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day 2022.

Said Benrahma opened the scoring for David Moyes' men in the first half from the penalty spot, but the Hammers were unable to deal with increasing Arsenal pressure in the second half and conceded three goals in 16 minutes. At the time, Arsenal were top of the Premier League.

Rice said: "First half, even though we didn't have much of the ball, we defended really well, stopped them really well and had a plan.

"But you can't sustain that for 90 minutes especially against a team like Arsenal. In the end, one of their chances will create something, and their free-flowing football managed to get through.

"We couldn't just get up the pitch [after the equaliser], they smothered us all over the pitch.

"100 per cent [they can win the league]. They're a top team, you can see they are coached incredibly well. They have a lot of attacking talent and a young squad, and they could go the whole way for sure.

"We tried as hard as we could to stop them, but it's really hard, and in the end we came up short."

Not only do Rice's comments show the respect he holds Arsenal in, but the squad's intent to go one better than last season and win the Premier League this term for the first time in 20 years.