David Moyes says Declan Rice will be welcomed back to West Ham with “open arms” when they face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
Rice captained West Ham to European glory last season, winning the UEFA Conference League before making the £105m switch to north London in the summer.
The England midfielder returns to the London Stadium for the first time since leaving the club on Wednesday and Moyes says he deserves a positive reception.
“I hope he will be back, because you’ve got to remember that this is the man who lifted the first European trophy (for West Ham) in 50 years,” Moyes said.
“He should be welcomed back with open arms and we’re all looking forward to seeing him again. He was a brilliant member of the team, he led the team brilliantly well and conducted himself impeccably as a West Ham player and captain in his time here.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing Dec. I’ve not seen him since he left. I don’t know if I want him to play but I hope he’s there.
“The most important thing was that he gave 100% in every game even though we all sort of knew that he probably wouldn’t be staying at West Ham.
“He conducted himself brilliantly well and for that alone deserves to be cheered.
“We miss him, but we’ve moved on as well and we had to do so.”
David Moyes has lost all four games he has managed against Arsenal in the League Cup in his managerial career but has a chance to put that record right when the two teams compete for a place in the quarter-finals, with Moyes saying that “every cup competition is an opportunity”.
The Hammers have lost the last three games in all competitions but Moyes says he has been pleased with his side’s start to the season overall.
“We’ve been pretty pleased with what we’ve done,” he added. “We want to get back on track and get rid of those bad results.”
