Declan Rice took a subtle swipe at Chelsea moments after helping Arsenal secure a place in the Champions League final. The midfielder was instrumental as the Gunners overcame Atletico Madrid in their semi-final second leg, with Bukayo Saka's goal sealing a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Focus on Premier League Title Race
Attention now shifts to the Premier League title race, where Arsenal hold a commanding lead following Manchester City's 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday. A win at Rice's former club, West Ham, on Sunday would significantly boost Arsenal's hopes of winning their first league title in 22 years.
Rice's Comments on West Ham and Chelsea
When asked about the upcoming match at the London Stadium, Rice expressed gratitude to West Ham, who signed him after he was released by Chelsea at age 14. He told Prime Video: "That club gave me everything, without West Ham there's no me. I honestly believe that. They gave me a chance when Chelsea didn't."
Rice added: "A lot of people there really pushed me on, David Moyes, Slaven Bilic and Manuel Pellegrini made me captain. There's loads of good things about that club, so it's not nice to see the position they're in. But it's football and I've got a job to do on Sunday. We're trying to win a Premier League title, we want to win every game and I'm sure they will want to as well, so let the best team win."
Dressing Room Atmosphere
On the mood in the Arsenal dressing room, Rice said: "It is chaos in there. I don't think you can underestimate what we have done in this competition up to this point. We have every right to celebrate that moment. The most prestigious competition in club football. We are just trying to soak it all in."
He continued: "We knew coming into the game what was at stake. If you can't get up for that, then you can't get up for any game of football. When we went 1-0 up, I knew we were going to win. I could feel something special building."
Arteta's Perspective
Manager Mikel Arteta relished the occasion but is keen for his squad to refocus quickly so they can arrive in Budapest for the final as Premier League champions. If Arsenal win their remaining three games against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, they will achieve that goal.
Arteta said: "It's great. Everybody can feel a shift in energy, in belief, in everything. Let's use it in the right way and understand that the margins and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve are huge, but that we have the ability and the conviction to do it."
