Declan Rice faced a huge afternoon regarding his transfer future with the West Ham captain leading his team out to face Arsenal. The Gunners have been the team strongly linked with making a move for the England midfielder and thus his display at London Stadium was not just important for the Hammers' relegation battle but also his chances of signing for the north Londoners in the summer.
Mikel Arteta's men flew out of the traps with Rice's West Ham getting off to the worst possible start as they were two goals behind after just 10 minutes. However, the skipper was integral in dragging West Ham back into the game just beyond the half-hour mark.
Rice flew out of his midfield position to put significant pressure on Thomas Partey. The 24-year-old was successful in robbing the Arsenal man of possession in a dangerous area and no less than 10 seconds later, West Ham had a penalty after Gabriel Magalhaes brought Lucas Paqueta to the ground.
READ MORE: Kolo Toure tells Arsenal how to exploit potential Man City weakness in crucial title-decider
In the second half, Rice and his team-mates kept up that level of intensity seen in the build up to their Said Benrahma's penalty. Just a few minutes after Bukayo Saka's missed spot kick, Jarrod Bowen equalised with a half-volley into the ground that Aaron Ramsdale, despite getting a hand to it, could not keep out.
Following the game, Rice was spotted in the tunnel alongside Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, with the latter shown to be signing an Arsenal home shirt for Rice, as picked up by a BeIN sports camera.
Edu's top target holding an Arsenal shirt sent some supporters into transfer theory overdrive with twitter user @_slim_ak writing, "Ødegaard signed the shirt, now Declan has to sign the Arsenal contract."
As football.london have reported throughout 2023, Rice is the top target for Arsenal in the summer and the pictures captured have only added to talk of that move occurring. @_Oluwa__ also tweeted, "that's it then, he's joining next szn", with @eetnikk, in agreement: "They’ll be playing together next season."
If Rice does arrive at the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season he will likely gradually be phased into the starting XI in place of Partey. The 29-year-old has been consistently superb this season but he struggled in east London before being replaced by Jorginho.
READ NEXT:
Every word Mikel Arteta said on Arsenal's title chance, Saka's penalty, pressure and complacency
Arsenal player ratings vs West Ham as Saka misses penalty, Partey poor, but Odegaard impresses
'Jesus is there' - Arsenal fans react to Bukayo Saka penalty miss with message to Mikel Arteta
Roy Keane and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink agree on two-word Arsenal verdict after West Ham collapse
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, views and rumours from the Emirates Stadium
