Pundit makes shock Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ claim as West Ham fans argue over ‘disrespectful’ Declan Rice in Gunners’ win

Former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe says Arsenal’s attacking style of play reminds him of Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ side after watching them crush West Ham, while Hammers fans argued over Declan Rice’s latest return to The London Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side delivered another devastating first-half display as goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz put them 4-0 before a flurry from the Hammers as Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson pulled two goals back.

However, Bukayo Saka notched from the penalty spot fifth minute of first-half added time to seal a big win for Arsenal and move them second in the Premier League table and six points behind Liverpool, who face struggling Manchester City on Sunday.

And speaking after the game, Defoe told Premier League Productions: “The way Arsenal are playing at the minute it reminds me of the Invincibles, when you had that Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, Robert Pires where they always vacated that left-hand side of the pitch, very unselfish.

“You’d see a lot of the Arsenal goals back then where they’d get into positions, players would pass it across goal and tap it into the empty net, it’s really unselfish.”

Defoe also feels that the north London outfit possess the sort of self-belief required to help them pounce on any errors a rampant Liverpool side might make in the title race.

“Liverpool at the minute are flying, playing some good football, winning games,” Defoe said. “But I think Arsenal just focus on themselves winning games. When you’re scoring a lot of goals and playing like you’re playing you can’t wait until the next game, and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against because you just believes you’ll get to the next game and you’re just going to win.

“They [Arsenal] seem to have that vibe at the minute where they’re scoring a lot of goals, everyone’s playing well, everyone’s contributing. So I could imagine that it doesn’t matter who they’re playing against next, they’ll believe that they’ll just keep winning.”

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Rice taken to task by West Ham fan

Meanwhile, Declan Rice was branded “disrespectful” by a West Ham supporter following Arsenal’s win, having been booed by Hmmers supporters during his return to his former club.

And one upset London Stadium supporter who attended the match made his feelings clear during a live radio phone-in after the game.

“Just on Declan Rice, obviously what he done for the club was brilliant but celebrating those goals today and moaning the way he does,” David the West Ham fan told talkSPORT. “It’s just a bit disrespectful, that’s just the way I see it”.

Other West Ham fans also made their feelings clear during the game on X as they continue to be unhappy at the way Rice walked away from the club to join the Gunners in a £105million deal in the summer of 2023.

One Hammers fan wrote: “I just enjoyed watching Rice play, I wasn’t against him leaving as such just annoyed where he went I wanted to watch him succeed but now I don’t want him to. It does make me a bit happy when the fans turn on him, he didn’t realise how good he had it.’

Another supporter added: “I think if he goes to any other club in world football apart from Arsenal or Spurs he gets the backing of 100 per cent of the fan base but I think with him going Arsenal it got under a few people’s skins.”

Another rued the fact that Rice chose to move to a London rival, adding: “He had the option to go to City but went to a London rival instead considering he left to win trophies, it’s a pretty funny choice. And people aren’t going to like that regardless. I love Declan and don’t agree with the booing but you can’t give people shit for being upset about it.”

Depending on what happens Sunday, the Gunners are at least trying to push Liverpool in the title race while for West Ham, TT understands that Julen Lopetegui is on the brink of being sacked as the club are already weighing-up replacement options.

Latest Arsenal news: Gunners tracking Dortmund sensation / Ipswich striker on Arteta radar

Yet another Englishman starring at Borussia Dortmund is attracting interest from the Premier League’s elite, with a report confirming Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea are all positioning themselves to strike.

Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho both became household names during their respective stints with Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga giant have become synonymous with developing rising young stars and they’re not afraid to take a chance on English talent.

Another who followed in Bellingham and Sancho’s footsteps is winger Jamie Gittens. The forward left Manchester City’s academy for Dortmund in 2020 aged just 16 and is now flourishing in Germany – with Sky Germany reporting that the Premier League elite are now circling.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have reportedly joined a growing number of clubs keen on signing Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap following his impressive start to life with the Tractor Boys in the Premier League.

Chelsea, Aston Villa and Newcastle have all been mentioned as suitors for the forward, while CaughtOffside now states that Arsenal are also looking to snap up Delap.

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