Carabao Cup
West Ham United 3-1 Arsenal 

Wednesday, 1st November 2023
by James Haley

The game started as expected with Arsenal dominating the possession and West Ham waiting for the counter-attack.

This led to the first chance of the game when Arsenal won a free kick in a wide area. Reiss Nelson whipped it into the box and found Kai Havertz with a flicked header and forced Lukasz Fabianski into making a save.


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West Ham broke the deadlock in the 16th minute when a Jarrod Bowen corner was turned into his own net by Ben White. Questions were asked by Aaron Ramsdale to the referee as he thought he was fouled by Tomas Soucek, but the lack of VAR worked in the Hammers' favour and the goal stood.

Arsenal tried to bounce back when Oleksandr Zinchenko was released in the box and crossed for the in-form Eddie Nketiah, who smashed the ball into the stands.

West Ham went in at the break leading 1-0, but with no shots registered at all! Despite this, Arsenal failed to create any meaningful chances and Fabianski didn't have much to do.

Following the interval the Irons came flying out the blocks. Within the first minute, Bowen was slipped in behind by Lucas Paqueta but the onrushing Ramsdale got enough on it to stop West Ham from doubling their lead.

But the Irons would go on to extend their advantage when a long diagonal pass from Nayef Aguerd found Mohamed Kudus. The Ghanaian international performed an incredible touch to take it past the onrushing Zinchenko and then place it into the bottom right corner.

David Moyes' side were now in full flow as Said Benrahma, Paqueta and Emerson linked up down the left-hand side. The defender's cross was comfortably cleared, but West Ham were recreating some of the football we saw at the start of the season.

Declan Rice made his return to the London Stadium replacing Jorginho on the 57th minute. The West Ham fans applauded their Conference League cup-winner as he came on the pitch although there were a few jeers and boos when he was on the ball.

The Hammers added a third on the hour mark when Vladimir Coufal was released down the right-hand side. His cross was cleared by White but only as far as Bowen, whose deflected half-volley stumped Ramsdale and flew into the back of the net.

West Ham were cruising to the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup - and that can only be epitomised by the attempt of a rainbow flick by Lucas Paqueta.

Arsenal never really looked to be causing West Ham any problems even when the likes of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard were brought on to try and rescue the
game.

The Gunners would get a late consolation however when Odegaard was released in the box by Fabio Vieira before finishing into the bottom right corner.

The game ended 3-1 after an excellent Hammers home performance to bounce back from three losses in a row. West Ham will now face Liverpool at Anfield in the quarter finala on 19 December.


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Player Ratings

Lukasz Fabianski
Was never really troubled by Arsenal but commanded his area well.


Vladimir Coufal
Excellent performance defensively and offensively. Kept Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli quiet whilst also playing the cross-in for Bowen's goal.


Emerson Palmieri
Keeps getting better and better each game. He is now an undroppable player for West Ham.


Konstantinos Mavropanos
Didn't put a foot wrong throughout the game. Particularly enjoyed it when he brought the ball from back to front and won a corner.


Nayef Aguerd
Solid at the back and a brilliant assist for the Mohamed Kudus goal.


Edson Alvarez
Aggressive in the challenge and finally back to playing that out-and-out defensive midfield role.


Tomas Soucek
Off-the-ball work was good but didn't really do much when he was on the ball.


Mohammed Kudus
Superb touch and finish for the second goal and starting to look like he's settling into the team. Supported Vladimir Coufal well in the defensive work which adds another element to his game.


Lucas Paqueta
Back to his best in this game with an entertaining performance whilst also doing the physical side excellently.


Jarrod Bowen
Outstanding performance from Bowen. Gave blood (literally), sweat and tears to the team and scored an excellent half-volley from the edge of the box as well as putting in dangerous corners which is something that James Ward-Prowse has failed to do. David Moyes has something to think about before starting Michail Antonio on Saturday.


Said Benrahma
Massive improvement from the last two games against Everton and Olympiacos. Industrious performance whilst also getting into some good attacking areas.



Substitutes

James Ward-Prowse
(Replaced Benrahma 81) Came on to see out the game and did just that.


Thilo Kehrer
(Replaced Kudus 88) Came on late and had an enthusiastic attitude even though he didn't start.


Alphonse Areola
Did not play.


Aaron Cresswell
Did not play.


Angelo Ogbonna
Did not play.


Pablo Fornals
Did not play.


Maxwel Cornet
Did not play.


Danny Ings
Did not play.


Michail Antonio
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Nayef Aguerd, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma.

Goals: Ben White OG 16 Mohammed Kudus 50 Jarrod Bowen 60              .

Booked: None.

Sent off: None.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tomiyasu 57), Jorginho (Rice 57), Fábio Viera, Havertz, Nelson (Martinelli 66), Trossard (66), Nketiah (Odegaard 80).

Subs not used: Hein, Saliba, Cédric Soares, Elneny.

Goals: Odegaard (90+7).

Booked: .

Sent off: None.

Referee: Simon Hooper.

Attendance: 62,154.

Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen.