Goodbye Declan Rice: Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all as Arsenal prepare unveiling that will sting West Ham fans

Supporters have flitted between feelings of acceptance, anger, resentment and melancholy over Rice after it emerged he ‘only wanted to join Arsenal’. I know I have.

But, as difficult as it may be, West Ham supporters must handle this goodbye with dignity and a dose of realism.

The majority of West Ham fans want to – and will – wish Rice well as he leaves today.

But there is no point brushing it under the carpet – his push to join a London rival has not gone down well with certain factions of the West Ham fanbase.

There has never been a great rivalry between West Ham and Arsenal, helped by a mutual dislike of the other team from north London.

That may change as a result of this transfer and the glee with which some Arsenal fans have goaded West Ham about taking their crown jewel.

The player Chelsea left heartbroken and on the football scrapheap at 14 was taken in by West Ham and given a platform to become one of the best midfield players in world football.

So to lose him to a London rival cuts deep. And it will scar. Because, whatever way you dress it up, it probably will tarnish how he is viewed by some who had taken him to their hearts and really believed he could be another Mark Noble.

But that was never going to happen. As much as we adore Noble, he did not have the same dilemmas Rice has faced because, with respect, he did not have even half the talent. So leaving for a club playing in the Champions League and looking to compete for silverware was never something Nobes had to consider. Noble would tell you that himself.

History tells us it is extremely rare for a top West Ham player to move to Arsenal. They are a massive club no doubt. It’s daft to suggest otherwise. But so are West Ham and it has never be seen as a significant enough step up from the Hammers, particularly post Arsene Wenger.

Yes most would much prefer to have seen Rice join a club like Man City – where he is guaranteed the Champions League football and silverware he craves.

The Gunners also need to appreciate that they just so happen to be the right ship passing at the right time and in the right place, quite literally.

Rice wanted to stay in London and play Champions League football. Arsenal are the only club that can tick those boxes right now. And if we take our claret and blue tinted West Ham glasses off for a moment and try to look at this objectively, then there are few better projects for a player to join right now than Arsenal and what Mikel Arteta is building there.

Anyone who has watched the Amazon documentary on the Gunners will have seen just how special the Spaniard is as a manager.

West Ham can take solace in the fact Rice turned down the biggest contract in Hammers history – which would have put him on the same money he will be earning at the Emirates – because it proves this was never about money for him.

As Arsenal supporters stick the boot in this weekend and over the coming years, it will be hard for many West Ham fans not to bear a grudge against Rice for making this move.

But there is a food chain in football. Arsenal know that better than anyone having lost a host of their top players to direct rivals over the last 20 years.

And until West Ham are the club paying £105m for a rival’s best player then they will have to take it on the chin too.

Every player has his price and in many ways Rice deserves to be the British record transfer. And West Ham deserve to finally make top money from selling one of their best players – however reluctantly that may be.

While seeing Rice in that red and white shirt will grate on many. But from a wider view, is it not also somewhat refreshing to see a player choose a different project and path – where it’s not all laid on plate as it would have been at a Man City or Bayern? In many ways that sums Declan up as a character too.

It may not feel good for West Ham but it’s certainly good for the Premier League as Man City threaten to make title races as boring as Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga.

Arsenal fans will probably scoff at this – and in many ways that in itself will make Hammers fans feel even more strongly that they don’t deserve him – but Rice will comfortably be Arsenal’s best player. And he will be their captain inside a year too.

Many of the Gunners fans lording it over West Ham will be the same ones who were saying Thomas Partey was better than him less than a year ago.

They will soon come to realise just how ridiculous a claim that was.

Rice leaves a wonderful legacy at West Ham United which culminated in the perfect send off as he led the club to Premier League safety and a first major trophy for 43 years.

It does not mean West Ham fans have to agree with his decision or that they have to cheer him.

But let us handle this with the dignity and respect the wonderful relationship we’ve had with Rice deserves – regardless of what might be thrown in our faces when Arsenal do unveil him.

I’m writing this at close to 3am having woken up and seen the news the deal is finally done. I couldn’t go back to sleep as I thought about never seeing Rice in a West Ham shirt again. And while it saddened me, every memory which flashed into my mind was a positive one. Every single one. And usually with Rice wearing that big grin of his.

So goodbye Declan Rice. Thank you for the memories and making us so proud again after years of indifference. One of the great English players, from England’s Academy of Football and an English record transfer.

So it is quite fitting that the final word should be from the great English poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson who perhaps has the wisest of words for all West Ham fans today:

Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

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