Mikel Arteta took the blame for Arsenal’s painful 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat at West Ham.

Arteta made six changes to his line-up for the fourth-round clash, starting with Declan Rice on the bench on his Hammers homecoming.

Rice, who lifted the Europa Conference League trophy as West Ham captain last season, was back at his old club for the first time since his £105million switch to the Gunners.

But he will not be getting his hands on the Carabao Cup this season after strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, following an early own goal by Ben White, sent the north Londoners crashing out.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Gunners boss Arteta. “I’m responsible for that, we’re out of the cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete.

“The game took a direction because of the first goal but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win.

“I’m disappointed with myself. We wanted to play in a different way and we weren’t able to do that. Every time we lose the pain is there.

“We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle on Saturday.”

West Ham took the lead after 15 minutes when Bowen’s corner was inadvertently headed past Aaron Ramsdale by White at the near post.

The second goal arrived in the 50th minute when Ghana winger Kudus collected a long ball into the box from Nayef Aguerd, skipped past Oleksandr Zinchenko and rifled a low shot through the legs of Gabriel and into the net.

Rice was the only goalscorer the last time West Ham beat Arsenal, in the Premier League in 2019.

“You should have signed for a big club” was the mischievous chant aimed at the 24-year-old when he came out to warm up.

Much of the build-up to the match centred around the reception the England midfielder would receive and when he was sent on in the 56th minute the boos were quickly drowned out by a standing ovation from most of the home fans.

But, before Rice had a chance to get into the game, West Ham had a third after Bowen collected White’s headed clearance and lashed it past Ramsdale via a deflection off Jakub Kiwior.

Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal with the last kick but it was West Ham’s night as they marched into the quarter-finals.

“It was a really good solid team performance. The forward players did a really good job and for long periods we were good defensively. For most of it we coped well,” said boss David Moyes.

“Maybe we are becoming quite a good cup team. I want to be a really good league team if I can be but if I can’t quite do that then we have to do well in the cups if we can.

“We have only won against Arsenal, we don’t get trophies for that.”

West Ham welcomed Declan Rice back to the London Stadium and then promptly sent him and Arsenal packing on the end of a 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat.

Rice, who lifted the Europa Conference League trophy as Hammers captain last season, was back at his old club for the first time since his £105million switch to the Gunners.

But he will not be getting his hands on the Carabao Cup this season after strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, following an early own goal by Ben White, sent the north Londoners crashing out.

Rice started on the bench as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made six changes to his line-up for the fourth-round clash and the most of the damage was done by the time he was called upon.

West Ham took the lead after 15 minutes when Bowen’s corner was inadvertently headed past Aaron Ramsdale by White at the near post.

Gunners keeper Ramsdale, making his first appearance since the win at Brentford in the previous round, complained that Tomas Soucek had a hold of his shirt as the ball came over and he probably had a case but, with no VAR in operation, the goal stood.

White attempted to make amends but unfortunately for Arsenal his header at the other end was not quite as accurate and Lukasz Fabianski tipped it over the crossbar, with Eddie Nketiah heading the resulting corner wide.

After the break, Ramsdale made a fine save to deny Bowen, who was sent through by Lucas Paqueta, with White completing the clearance on the goal-line.

But the second goal arrived in the 50th minute when Ghana winger Kudus collected a long ball into the box from Nayef Aguerd, skipped past Oleksandr Zinchenko and rifled a low shot through the legs of Gabriel and into the net.

Rice was the only goalscorer the last time West Ham beat Arsenal, in the Premier League in 2019.

“You should have signed for a big club” was the mischievous chant aimed at the 24-year-old when he came out to warm up.

Much of the build-up to the match centred around the reception the England midfielder would receive and when he was sent on in the 56th minute the boos were quickly drowned out by a standing ovation from most of the home fans.

But, before Rice had a chance to get into the game, West Ham had a third after Bowen collected White’s headed clearance and lashed it past Ramsdale via a deflection off Jakub Kiwior.

Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal with the last kick but it was West Ham’s night as they marched into the quarter-finals.

Scrum-half Ali Price has been handed a surprise start for Scotland’s World Cup Pool B qualification shootout with Ireland on Saturday, as regular number nine Ben White misses out on a place in the 23 altogether.

The 30-year-old Glasgow back made the number nine jersey his own for three years until losing his spot to the burgeoning White at the start of this year’s Six Nations.

But after scoring a try when a much-changed XV defeated Romania in Lille last Saturday, Price has remained in the team for this weekend’s Paris showdown.

White is not even listed among the substitutes, with c the replacement scrum-half.

Captain Jamie Ritchie returns to lead the team after going off with concussion in the first half of the Tonga match a fortnight ago.

Price in place of White is the only change to the team that started the match against South Africa on the opening weekend of the tournament.

The scrum-half had spoken in Nice earlier this week about how his improved maturity had helped him deal with losing his place just two years after being selected for British and Irish Lions duty.

But he now appears to have convinced Gregor Townsend that he is worthy of being pitched back into the thick of it for one of Scotland’s biggest games in years as they bid to get a bonus-point win over the Irish or deny their opponents a losing bonus in order to reach the quarter-finals.

Hamish Watson, another 2021 Lion who has fallen from prominence this year, has not made the 23 despite impressing against Romania last weekend.

What the papers say

Arsenal are reportedly lining up Wolves winger Pedro Neto for a summer transfer. According to the Daily Mirror, the Gunners considered launching a bid for the 23-year-old in 2022 but nothing materialised. The club are believed to have maintained their interest however, and join Liverpool, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid in keeping tabs on the Portugal international.

Staying with Arsenal, the Daily Mail says negotiations have begun over a new contract for defender Ben White. The development comes despite the 25-year-old England international having three years left on his £120,000-a-week deal.

And The Sun says Manchester United have sent a scout to monitor 22-year-old Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio, with a view to a potential January deal.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Bryan Cristante: Calciomercato reports Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr are set to make a move for the Roma midfielder.

Lucas Beraldo: Liverpool are keen on the 19-year-old Sao Paulo centre-back, according to website 90mins.

Ben White is back in the Scotland XV to face Georgia at Murrayfield on Saturday – just three weeks after fearing injury might rule him out of the World Cup.

The scrum-half limped off in clear distress in the first half of the home win over France earlier this month and looked exasperated as he made his way up the tunnel with his ankle heavily strapped. He missed the subsequent match away to France and later revealed that he was “really concerned” when the injury first happened.

However, White – Gregor Townsend’s first-choice scrum-half – has now been deemed fit enough to return to the number nine jersey for Scotland’s last warm-up match before heading to France for the World Cup at the start of September.

In a further boost for supporters, Edinburgh wing Duhan van der Merwe, who suffered a minor ankle injury in the last match in Saint-Etienne, is also fit enough to start against Georgia.

Despite Scotland’s first game of the tournament against South Africa being only three weeks away and the 33-man squad having been finalised, head coach Townsend has opted to send out a strong XV.

Ollie Smith, with five caps to his name, is the least experienced player in the team as he stands in for Blair Kinghorn at full-back, but the backline is otherwise arguably as strong as it could possibly be.

In the forward department, Glasgow prop Jamie Bhatti starts along with Edinburgh veteran WP Nel, with Pierre Schoeman rested and Zander Fagerson suspended. Richie Gray is another likely starter at the World Cup who has been given the weekend off, with Sam Skinner taking his place alongside Grant Gilchrist in the second row.

Dave Cherry starts ahead of George Turner and Ewan Ashman at hooker, while the back-row is comprised of captain Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey.

Gregor Townsend is confident Ben White will be fit for the Rugby World Cup even though the Scotland scrum-half has not travelled to France for this Saturday’s warm-up match in Saint-Etienne.

The 25-year-old, who started each of the Six Nations matches earlier this year, was forced off in clear discomfort with an ankle injury in the first half of last weekend’s victory over Les Bleus at Murrayfield.

White stayed in Scotland while the rest of the squad flew out on Sunday to their World Cup training base near Nice. His number nine jersey has been taken by Ali Price for Saturday night’s Test at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

“Ben is doing alright,” reported Townsend as he faced the media on Thursday following his team announcement. “He is not part of our group just now, he has stayed at home to continue with rehab.

“Given the fact we’ve got two flights, one out here to our training camp, then one up to Saint-Etienne, and obviously some full-on training sessions, we decided it would be better for Ben to stay back home, get physio and rest up.

“We’re confident Ben will return to training next week or the following week. We do have an appointment booked for him on Monday with a specialist to see how it’s progressing.

“That gives us clarity ahead of announcing our World Cup squad (on Wednesday) but from chatting to the medics last night, he seems to be progressing positively, like we thought he would.”

Another player who misses out this weekend is Zander Fagerson, but Townsend is relieved that he will be able to call on the Glasgow prop for the World Cup opener against South Africa after he was effectively banned for just two matches following his red card for a high challenge on France hooker Pierre Bourgarit last weekend.

“I was part of the group that presented Zander’s case alongside Zander and our team manager (David Edge) and I thought the way the panel approached it, they understood Zander’s actions were mistimed rather than any intent to hurt his opponent,” said Townsend, reflecting on Tuesday’s hearing.

“He was in control of his actions, so with Zander pleading guilty to the charge, we got a sanction that obviously could have been worse but what we believe was befitting of an unlucky incident rather than intentional foul play.

“It’s a huge boost for Zander that he can now focus on being available for the first game against South Africa. Any longer ban would have taken him out of that game or potentially taken him out of the World Cup so he’s now got four weeks before we play South Africa to make sure he’s in great physical condition.”

Townsend has made six changes to the team that started against the French last weekend, with Kyle Steyn, Price, WP Nel, George Turner, Rory Darge and captain Jamie Ritchie taking over from Darcy Graham, White, Fagerson, Ewan Ashman, Hamish Watson and Matt Fagerson.

Ritchie missed the previous two warm-up matches with a minor calf issue.

“Jamie’s probably in the best shape I’ve seen him in the last few years,” said Townsend. “He’s had a couple of injuries that have curtailed his progress but he’s built on what he did in the Six Nations and I think he’s fitter, stronger.

“We’ve had a few lively sessions and we had a full hit-out on two occasions and Jamie stood out really well. He trained fully this week in hot conditions and looked good so we can’t wait to see him play.

Graham and Matt Fagerson have both been given the weekend off after being the only two players to start the previous two warm-up matches.

“They’re both fine physically and both wanted to play but there’s an increased risk when you start people in three Test matches in three weeks so that’s the reason they’ve missed out this weekend,” said Townsend.

Townsend trimmed four players from his provisional squad last weekend and must cull another quartet by Wednesday when he names his final 33-man squad for the World Cup.

“We’re closer because we’ve got a smaller squad out here so there’s less decisions to make,” he said. “In terms of what that final squad will be, this weekend will go a fair bit to making sure we make the best decision.

“The players that are getting an opportunity to play this weekend can leave a lasting impression but it’s what they’ve done throughout the World Cup camp and the games that’s in our minds just now.

“We know it’s going to be very tough getting from that 37-man squad down to 33 and obviously we’re hoping there are no injuries to factor into our selection debates on Sunday and Monday.”

France have restored most of their big hitters for this weekend’s match after fielding a largely second-string side at Murrayfield and Townsend expects a formidable test in the Saturday night heat, with the temperature forecast to hit 32 degrees during the day in Saint-Etienne .

“France are one of the best teams in the world, they have a first team that has played a lot of rugby together over the last few years, and equally importantly they are playing at home,” said Townsend.

“The French crowds have been very noisy this year, whether it’s at Stade de France, an under-20s game, a women’s international, or a top club game, so we’re sure we’re going into a very noisy, hostile environment in Saint-Etienne.

“And with that we’ll also have to deal with the weather conditions. It’s been very hot over here and it will probably be around 20 degrees when the game kicks off at 9pm.

“They don’t have many games left before they open the World Cup so I’m sure they will want to put out their best performance, just like we do.”

Burgeoning Scotland scrum-half Ben White is determined to make a big impact in France for both club and country in the months ahead.

The 25-year-old is set to go to the upcoming World Cup as his nation’s first-choice number nine after starting each of the Six Nations matches earlier this year.

And following the global showpiece in France, he will join up with his new colleagues at Toulon after he signed for the Top 14 outfit last month following the recent financial demise of his previous club London Irish.

“It was a tough time and it’s very sad for a lot of the players and fans and people who have been at the club a long time,” said White, reflecting on his pre-World Cup change in circumstances at club level.

“I guess a lot of the players have been lucky but for the fans their club is gone so from that side of it, it’s very disappointing. But when one door closes, another one opens and to get the opportunity to go to Toulon is one I’ll be very grateful for.

“I want to hopefully have a good World Cup and a good run of games to go to Toulon and put my best foot forward and to play well for them.

“It’s kind of weird how it’s happened, to sign for a club and then not go there (immediately), but (Toulon director of rugby) Pierre Mignoni has messaged me a couple of times to check up on how things are going with me and it’s great to have that communication straight off the bat.

“I’ve been trying to do my French lessons in my downtime and it’s going ok. It’s an awesome opportunity and I’m really excited for it.

“The French absolutely love their rugby, the grounds will be absolutely rammed at the World Cup and the atmosphere they have at the stadiums is one of the things that drew me to Toulon. Getting the opportunity to play for Scotland out there, hopefully, will be amazing.”

White explained that he was always keen on the idea of playing abroad and he feels his move to France will bring out the best in him.

“The Top 14 is one of the best leagues in the world,” he said. “French nines over the years have been nines that have controlled the game and slightly different to England where the 10 would call a lot of things.

“In France, the nines call things and Pierre was a scrum-half so to have the opportunity to work with him was something that excited me. Having a fresh challenge abroad is going to be amazing for me.”

After being rested last weekend as an experimental Scotland side defeated Italy 25-13, White and the rest of Gregor Townsend’s big guns return to the starting XV for this Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match at home to France, just five weeks before the Scots’ first match at the tournament against holders South Africa in Marseille.

“It’s a really exciting period and if we can get a good result against France it gives you a lot of confidence going into the World Cup,” said White. “They’re a tough team with great players so it’s a really exciting challenge for us.

“I absolutely love every minute in a Scotland shirt. Running out at Murrayfield is probably one of the most special things I’ll ever do in my life so when you get the opportunity to do that, you want to make sure you play to the best of your ability.

“I’m very excited to be back doing it this weekend.”