‘Just leave him alone’… BBC pundit hits out after what happened to 24-year-old Arsenal star today

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Michael Brown has hit out at some of the West Ham United fans who decided to boo Declan Rice in the early stages as Arsenal visited the London Stadium on Sunday.

Declan Rice made his first return to West Ham in the Premier League following his summer move to Arsenal. He had previously played at the ground in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.

Rice received a mixed reception from the West Ham supporters on that occasion. And some were not particularly welcoming on Sunday as David Moyes’ men hosted the title contenders in the top-flight.

Michael Brown criticises West Ham fans who booed Declan Rice

A number of Rice’s early touches were booed. There was a moment when he received some cheers as he went to take a corner. But plenty of supporters were keen to throw the 24-year-old off his game as much as possible.

And that led to some criticism from Michael Brown, who suggested on BBC Radio Five Live that Rice did not deserve that kind of reception.

“I don’t get the Declan Rice boos, I don’t know whether it’s just a fun thing to try to put him off his game. Just leave him alone, what a player he was for West Ham and a great servant for them,” he said.

Criticism of supporters seems unfair

As a fan of a club who had Michael Brown on their books at one stage in his playing days, it seems incredibly bizarre to hear the pundit hit out at the West Ham fans for how they responded to Rice.

Brown was not someone who would make life easy for opposition players. He loved the battle. And as a manager, you would imagine that he would have wanted the other team to feel as uncomfortable as possible.

Rice is a West Ham hero, there is no question about that. However, the fans’ loyalty lies with West Ham, not with Declan Rice. So why should they applaud every single touch he takes now that he is at Arsenal?