Declan Rice is back at the London Stadium again on Sunday and this time the Arsenal midfielder will hope to enjoy a happier homecoming.

The £105million man endured a miserable first return to West Ham in November, coming on for the final 30 minutes as Arsenal crashed out of the Carabao Cup with a 3-1 loss.

West Ham fans taunted Rice with chants of: "You should have signed for a big club". He was booed by some supporters but also applauded by large sections of the crowd.

This weekend, only victory will do for Rice and Arsenal as they bid to make another statement about their title aspirations after last weekend's 3-1 win over Liverpool.

The Gunners have painful memories of this fixture last season, when Bukayo Saka missed a penalty and they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 on a damaging day to their title bid.

Mikel Arteta likes to use bad experiences as fuel for his players and he will have no doubt referenced that collapse in the build-up to the game.

But Arsenal are a different team this season and Rice is a big reason why. The England midfielder has impressed so much since his move from West Ham that his price tag is hardly ever mentioned.

He excelled against Liverpool last weekend to continue his trend of delivering when it matters most in the big games.

Rice has scored against Chelsea and Manchester United and was outstanding for Arsenal in their win over Manchester City in October.

When he made the move across London last summer, there was a belief at Arsenal that he could add goals to his game due to his athleticism.

But, long-term, both Arteta and Rice see him as a No6 at the base of midfield. Rice is happy to fill in anywhere, even at centre-back, but his ambition is to nail down being the main man in front of the defence.

Tellingly, when Jorginho was brought into the team against Liverpool last weekend, Rice stayed as the No6 as the Italian was pushed further forward.

Arsenal’s coaching staff have an open-door policy, and players are encouraged to speak to them whenever they like. Rice has repeatedly taken analysts and coaches up on that offer, such is his hunger to learn and improve.

He enjoys a very good relationship with Arteta, who he has described as "a mentor as well as a manager".

Rice, Gabriel and William Saliba have given Arsenal a physical edge this season and that has helped them have the joint-best defence in the Premier League.

Scoring goals has been the problem and Arsenal will once again have to find a way past a deep defence against West Ham.

On Sunday, Rice could come up against his England team-mate Kalvin Phillips. The pair helped drive England to the Euro 2020 Final and David Moyes wanted to build his midfield around them at the London Stadium.

Phillips has endured a difficult start to life at West Ham, giving away goals in his first two games, against Bournemouth and Manchester United.

The on-loan midfielder came on as a substitute at Old Trafford last weekend and is clearly still building his way back to fitness after being on the bench for so long at Manchester City.

Rice, on the other hand, remains at the top of his game as he bids to make a winning return to his old stomping ground.