---
title: "Declan Rice enjoying life at West Ham amid Arsenal interest"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2017/01/16/declan-rice-enjoying-life-west-ham-amid-arsenal-interest/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Michael Oliver"
section: "West Ham News"
published: "2017-01-16T11:25:35Z"
modified: "2017-01-16T11:25:35Z"
---

# Declan Rice enjoying life at West Ham amid Arsenal interest

West Ham are fortunate to have a number of promising young centre-backs at the club currently and hopefully in the near future they can break into the first-team for good.

We’ve already seen Reece Oxford and Reece Burke play a number of games for the first-team in the last 18 months but Declan Rice appears to be the next along the West Ham conveyor belt.

The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract with the club back in the summer and was named in a first-team matchday squad for the first time on Boxing Day for the 4-1 win at Swansea which came as a shock to him.

“I wasn’t even supposed to go in but I got a text to say I was going to be in \[training\] Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and on the bench Boxing Day,” Rice told [whufc.com](https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/january/15-january/rice-enjoying-different-partnerships).

![Matthew Lewis/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readwestham.com/readwestham/2017/01/528215738.jpg)

Despite being [linked with a move to Arsenal](https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/567481/Arsenal-Transfer-News-West-Ham-Declan-Rice-Arsene-Wenger-Dimitri-Payet), Rice remains focussed on progressing at West Ham following his maiden trip with the first-team and he eyes a spot on the field in the near future.

“It was an amazing feeling because I had my family up in the stands and even though I didn’t get on it was great to be a part of. I’ve got to keep playing well and progressing and then hopefully I can get on the pitch.”

West Ham have three senior centre-backs in the squad in Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and James Collins but Slaven Bilic has always been one to give youth a chance and should injury strike he appears to have the confidence in Declan to throw him into the action.