Arsenal star Declan Rice reveals reunion with West Ham ‘brother for life’
Arsenal ace Declan Rice has shared a touching tribute to a crucial figure at West Ham after reuniting during the close season.
The midfielder came through the youth ranks with the Hammers and went on to make well over 200 senior appearances for the club in all competitions.
He was a key figure as West Ham won the Europa Conference League back in the 2022/23 season to end the club’s long wait for a major trophy.
However, Rice then left the club to join Arsenal in the summer of 2023, where he has quickly established himself as a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Even so, the England international has seemingly still not forgotten his connections with West Ham, judging by his latest social media post.
Declan Rice and Vladimir Coufal reunite
With the season now over for the vast majority of players, Rice is able to get the chance to take a break from football.
In doing so, he has taken the chance to link up with another icon of recent West Ham history in the form of Mark Noble.
The former midfielder spent his entire senior career on the books with the Hammers, making 550 appearances for the club in all competitions before retiring in 2022.
Since then, Noble has also taken on a role as sporting director with the club, so he will be looking to aid manager Graham Potter in the transfer market this summer, as well as reuniting with an old teammate.
On Monday (16 June), Rice took to his Instagram story to post a picture of the pair sat together on a plane, seemingly set for some form of holiday.
The Arsenal midfielder then added the caption “brother for life” along with a loveheart emoji, showing the affection he still has for his former teammate.
Arsenal facing a big season
Football Insider Verdict
Despite memorable moments such as Rice’s incredible brace of free kicks against Real Madrid, the 2024/25 campaign was another that ended without a trophy for the Gunners.
Arsenal are going to be desperate to change that next season, especially with so many of their rivals picking up silverware recently.
New signings this summer will go a long way to helping with that, but as Rice showed with his own performances this season, he will be key to any hopes Arteta’s side have of picking up a trophy.
Those connected with Arsenal will therefore be hoping he returns from his break fresh and ready to make a big impact again in the 2025/26 season.