Premier LeagueWest Ham United 2-5 Arsenal
Saturday, 30th November 2024
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
West Ham were ripped apart again by Arsenal at the London Stadium, but the manager may have seen his job saved by two goals in two first-half minutes as The Hammers were beaten 5-2.
All seven goals were scored in a wild first half that erupted into life around the half-hour mark, Arsenal racing into a 4-0 lead until West Ham's full backs both scored within 140 seconds of each other to turn a drubbing into something somewhat more acceptable, only for Gabriel to win a ridiculously soft penalty in stoppage time.With the manager banned from the touchline, his side were woefully short of matching Arsenal, their only touch in the opposition box coming from Wan-Bissaka's goal, and chasing shadows throughout as they camped inside their own half.
The Hammers were unchanged from the victory at St. James' Park last weekend, but whereas the personnel was the same, the energy and overall performance was as far removed as it could be.
A solid, if unspectacular opening 10 minutes was quickly forgotten as Arsenal's clever corner routine proved profitable. There had been a glimpse moments earlier, the away side positioning all their attacking runners beyond the far post and then all running in at once as the corner was delivered.
The first was defended well, but with Saka delivering from the right, Gabriel lost Antonio instantly as he darted to the front post. The Brazilian met it with ease to glance a header to the far post and give his side the lead.
What the referee hadn't seen was Timber knocking Paqueta off balance at the front post, which forced the Brazilian into a false jump, and as the shield for balls dropped in there, it definitely made a difference.
Arsenal were dominant, even if they had created nothing aside from their own. By 15 minutes, they had 82% possession. It was the pattern the game was settled into, right from the start.
Summerville chipped a lovely finish into the net, quickly flagged offside, but it was otherwise completely the visitor's game. The two minutes of West Ham's goals were a brief interruption.
Saka could have scored after lazy Kilman defending, curling just wide in the box, but if he couldn't punish the centre back's poor defending, Havertz soon did.
The summer signing had arguably his worst game as simple errors crept into his game.
Just before half hour was played, it was 2-0 to Arsenal. West Ham were offering nothing, merely a defence for an attack to play against, and Arsenal have proven themselves efficient taskmasters under Arteta. Give them this game and they will turn to their conductor, the fantastic Martin Odegaard pulling the strings.
With possession in the West Ham half, Arsenal moved it around and went from the wings into the Norwegian maestro. Seven West Ham defenders darted into their own box, leaving Odegaard on the edge with time to dink a chipped pass over the defenders, dropping for Saka just wide of goal, six yards out. He quickly squared it, leaving Trossard with the task of poking it home into an empty net to double his side's lead.
The floodgates opened quickly. A few minutes later, Saka beat Emerson down the right and cut into the box, only for Paqueta to dangle a leg and clip the winger, who must have been delighted to be so obviously tripped inside the West Ham box.
?~degaard stepped up and passed it firmly into the bottom corner, beating Fabianski's dive and making it three.
86 seconds later, it was four. This time, Kilman was caught out by a simple long ball forward. Paqueta lost possession in the Arsenal half and Trossard immediately fired the loose ball high over the defence.
Kilman turned to lunge at the dropping ball, missing it and leaving Havertz with a free run to goal. The German striker collected, knocked forward towards goal and then curled the ball around the rushing Fabianski to double his side's lead with relative ease just before 30 minutes had been played.
You started to wonder how bad it could be, and how bad it would have to be to erase the good will of last week's victory over Newcastle.
But as thoughts tried their best to drift away from the football on show, West Ham sprang to life. Too little, too late, of course, and arguably caused by Arsenal feeling reasonably comfortable at 4-0, but here came the home side.
With their first and only touch in the Arsenal area in the first half, The Hammers got a goal back. It was created by wonderful play from Soler, who is doing his best to grasp the chance given to him over the previous two games.
Taking it on 10 yards or so in the Arsenal half, the Spaniard found himself under little pressure so turned at goal and pushed forward with speed.
Before the Arsenal midfield could truly react, Soler had looked up and curled a gorgeous pass through the defence that curved perfectly into the path of Wan-Bissaka, who knocked it into the box and then placed home at the near post to get his second goal in two games.
It seemed a consolation goal, but two minutes later, they'd scored again.
This time, Antonio won a freekick on the edge of the box. Soler stood one side of the ball, Emerson the other, and it was the left back who stepped up, curled it over the wall and found the underside of the crossbar, the bounce dropping down behind the line and into the back of the net as, out of absolutely nowhere, West Ham had halved the Arsenal lead.
Now there were five minutes left of the half and it looked like there could be a game on.
But you're not that foolish, are you? Just like my dreams, and all that.
For the last knockings of first-half stoppage time saw Arsenal awarded a soft penalty, as soft as you'll see. Gabriel won another header from a corner, heading over the bar. The Hammers rushed to get the ball and mount a last attack of the half.
But one Arsenal player was appealing, and the weak Anthony Taylor was swayed, blowing his whistle and pointing to the spot.
The foul? Fabianski was punching the ball as the Arsenal centre back went for the header, beating him to it to head over. Fabianski made contact, Gabriel went down in tears, and Arteta's team of petulant children got their way once more.
Now, if these were given regularly, I doubt you'd have much complaint. He didn't make contact with the ball, he did make contact with the player. But you won't be able to recall one because they don't get punished, and, as it always is with these occurrences, a title-chasing, Champions League side got the advantage from an errant decision.
VAR approved it, because of course, and this time it was Saka's turn to step up, and Fabianski got even closer, a hand to the ball down to his right, but not enough to quite stop it hitting the back of the net.
It was the fourth time a game had seen seven goals scored in the first half in Premier League history, the first for 12 years. Doesn't it feel great to be part of it?
There was still time for Emerson to force an excellent save from Raya with another good freekick, a skill we have not seen a hint of in his years with the club, but the half ended with floods already on their way clear of Stratford.
What do you do as a manager from here? For Lopetegui, he removed Summerville and gave Alvarez 45 minutes.
There appeared to be tactical changes, too. At times it looked like Paqueta may be a false nine, with Antonio and Bowen starting wide and drifting in when the Brazilian dropped deep. Other times, they appeared more of a standard front two.
It didn't matter, what we saw was a half of football that neither team seemed interested in playing.
After one Antonio effort that was deflected just wide of goal, Paqueta doing well to push through the middle, the game pretty much ended. Arsenal seemed to just be managing their energy and keeping West Ham at a distance. Even against this low intensity, The Hammers made no impression.
The only moment worth watching was one big Wan-Bissaka sliding challenge that got Arteta upset, and who can ever be unhappy about that?
We could talk about the substitutes, we could assess the solidity of the second half, we could even go back into another Arsenal performance where their identity is so clearly in their behaviour rather than their football, but why bother?
This was a game finished in the first half, revived briefly by two full backs, all before Anthony Taylor took centre stage again.
Ings did come close in stoppage time, flicking the ball around Raya after Irving had seen a pass to him in the box cut out, but the striker could only drag his shot wide of goal.
It was cleared, quickly forgotten, and soon we could try forget a game with seven goals that would have been infuriating if it didn't just seem sad. Three minutes of fight, 40 minutes of relegation football and a second half of the most nothing football you can describe.
The blessing is that this is a title contender in form against a mid-table side bereft of confidence or rhythm, so expectations could only be low.
Isn't it just a shame that West Ham away is no longer a tough game?
Manager's Rating
Julen Lopetegui 4/10: The game plan, as far as it could be seen, was to defend and then hope for some luck and breakaways. It was not well done. Set piece defending looked unprepared.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Arsenal match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Click on any player's name to view their full KUMB bio, including all historical match notes and ratings/10.Lukasz Fabianski
Not the worst rating when you concede five, but it's hard to say he played well or notably badly. The defence let him down.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
A great finish, a bit of fight, and there's something quite enjoyable about watching him play this maverick football.
Emerson Palmieri
Suffered in defence, but two very good freekicks left a mark and added a smile when it seemed unlikely.
Jean-Clair Todibo
He's not the imposing one of the pair, and his centre back colleague let him down, but he was a part of a very poor defensive performance.
Max Kilman
Individual mistakes, a shambolic back line he should be leading, five goals conceded. Not his finest hour.
Tomas Soucek
The midfield balance was off and Tommy struggled with the ball.
Carlos Soler
Great pass for the first goal, and they only one who seemed to want to do things with any pace, be it in attack or defensively.
Lucas Paqueta
A couple of those silly lapses costing goals again. The team seems to perform to around the level Paqueta does, and his season so far has been poor.
Michail Antonio
Sympathy for Antonio today, who played in a team that looked like it had come to defend its own half and achieve little else.
Crysencio Summerville
Much the same as Bowen, except he only got 45 minutes to struggle through. Might as well have been a full back himself, such was the work he was forced into.
Jarrod Bowen
Never into the game.
Substitutes
Edson Alvarez(Summerville 46) Energetic and some good flashes in possession.
Vladimir Coufal
(Emerson 65) Defended strongly.
Danny Ings
Unlucky with his chance but lively enough again.
Andy Irving
(Soler 78) One lovely pass nearly got Ings in.
Guido Rodriguez
(Paqueta 78) Not challenged or notable.
Alphonse Areola
Did not play.
Ezra Mayers
Did not play.
Ollie Scarles
Did not play.
Luis Guilherme
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Emerson Palmieri, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, Tomas Soucek, Carlos Soler, Lucas Paqueta, Michail Antonio, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: Aaron Wan-Bissaka 38 Emerson Palmieri 40 .
Booked: Emerson Palmieri 0 Crysencio Summerville 0 Lukasz Fabianski 0 Tomas Soucek 0 .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Arsenal: Raya, Saliba, Magalhaes (Kiwior 46), Timber, Calafiori (Zinchenko 56), Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard (Jesus 74), Trossard (Nwaneri 84), Saka (Sterling 74), Havertz, Taylor.
Subs not used: Neto, Tierney, Nichols, Martinell.
Goals: Magalhaes (10), Trossard (27), Odegaard (pen 34), Havertz (36), Saka (pen 45+5).
Booked: None booked..
Sent off: None.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Attendance: 62,475.
Man of the Match: Carlos Soler.