By the time Declan Rice eventually took to the pitch on his return to West Ham, his rescue mission had begun to look like an impossible task. The smattering of boos that greeted the return of only the third West Ham captain in history to lift a major honour were quickly drowned out by a rapturous roar, but they not for him. Rice had only been on for a matter of moments when Jarrod Bowen’s deflected strike cannoned in off Aaron Ramsdale and with it, Rice’s old club led his new club by three goals. By the end, Arsenal crashed out of the Carabao Cup with barely a whimper.
This was not a happy homecoming for Rice – it was a terrible night for Arsenal, a difficult evening for Ramsdale, and a regretful one for Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager took responsibility for the defeat after his side were second-best throughout. The Gunners have biggest priorities this season but with Rice starting on the bench, alongside Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba, those who were given their chance failed to take it. Jorginho was poor in midfield, the drop-off from Rice significant, while Kai Havertz and Reiss Nelson were ineffective.
