David Moyes reveals how many goals Declan Rice would have prevented West Ham from conceding if the England star didn't sign for Arsenal

Arsenal signed England international Rice from West Ham for £105mMoyes has revealed how much losing Rice hurt the Hammers this past seasonLISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! What Jude Bellingham must do to elevate his game

David Moyes had boldly claimed that West Ham would have conceded 20 per cent fewer goals this past season if they had kept Declan Rice.

The England international was a rocket at the heart of West Ham's midfield, making 245 appearances and helping them win the Europa Conference League in what was his final game for the club.

Rice then signed for Arsenal in a massive £105m deal, playing a pivotal role for the Gunners who were two points shy of winning their first Premier League title in 20 years.

Moyes, who has recently left West Ham himself, spoke about the impact of losing Rice on Gary Lineker's The Rest is Football podcast.

'We conceded more goals this year because Dec could have tidied up,' Moyes claimed.

David Moyes believes Declan Rice would have prevented West Ham conceding 20 per cent fewer goals this recent season if he hadn't signed for Arsenal in a £105m deal last summer

Moyes left West Ham at the end of a season in which they conceded 74 goals, with his claims suggesting the Hammers would have only let in 60 if Rice had remained with the club

Rice is an important player for both England (left) at this summer's Euros, as well as Arsenal (right) - playing a pivotal role in the Gunners' Premier League title challenge this past season

'And I'm saying that he would have tidied up another 20% of them you know? When you do that, that changes results, it changes defeats into draws and different things.'

West Ham let in 74 goals over the recent season, so by Moyes' calculations, his team would have conceded around 60 if Rice had remained at the London Stadium.

This would have meant they finished with a goal difference of 0, and would have conceded fewer goals than the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle.

Moyes reflected: 'Declan was such a great lad to have - his recovery speed, his ability. But I have to say he has improved in a lot of ways. He wanted to get forward more in the second year.

'The first year together we had Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice. Tomas was the one who was making the box and scoring the goals and Dec was sitting.

'There was a lot that said 'Declan Rice isn't going to be that good, he can't score a goal, he can't really get forward'. And I think Dec got a wee bit hurt by that as well, and it didn't actually help our balance as a team, because Tomas had to end up having to sit a little more and he wasn't as good as what Dec could do, and Dec at the time wasn't scoring quite enough.

'He was getting a few, but I think he wanted to prove to other people how good he could be at the other side.'

When asked by Micah Richards to name Rice's best position, Moyes said: 'I think he's better as a six. But I've got to say, Mikel pushed him on - but that might just have been to suit Mikel.'

West Ham and Moyes parted ways following a ninth place finish in the recent league season

West Ham and Moyes decided to part ways at the end of the season, with ex-Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui coming in as his replacement.

The 61-year-old has been part of the BBC's coverage of the ongoing Euro 2024 tournament, as he plans to take a break from management. after a five-year second stint at the London Stadium.

Rice meanwhile is also playing an integral part of Gareth Southgate's England squad, and put in a defensively assured performance in their opening 1-0 victory over Serbia on Sunday.

He will likely start in midfield alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham, for their second group game against Denmark tonight.