West Ham flexed its in-form muscles with a gritty 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, setting their hosts’ Premier League title hopes back a peg.
Tomas Soucek scored in the first half and ex-Gunners back Konstantinos Mavropanos doubled the advantage after the break as the Irons gave the Gunners the ball but took the points from rain-soaked North London. It might’ve been 3-0 had Said Benrahma not seeing his late penalty saved by David Raya.
WATCH ARSENAL vs WEST HAM FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
West Ham gave Arsenal nearly 75% possession and attempted just five shots. It mattered little, as Arsenal rarely found its way toward goal and Alphonse Areola made five saves in the clean sheet.
The Irons have now posted three-straight shutouts in the Premier League and haven’t allowed a league goal in 271 minutes. The win streak puts them on 33 points, good for sixth place. That’s three points off fifth-place Spurs and six behind third-place Aston Villa.
The Gunners were coming off a big draw at Liverpool, but now sit two points behind the table-topping Reds.
Arsenal had long-controlled its rivalry with West Ham, but the Irons have now won after collecting a home draw in April and knocking the Gunners out of the League Cup on Nov. 1.
More waste as Arsenal can’t take chances
Seventy-five percent possession. 25-5 in shot attempts and a 2.25-0.69 gap in expected goals. More than three times the completed passes of their visitors.
Nothing on the scoreboard.
Arsenal has a finishing problem. Say all you want about the Gunners’ impressive depth on the scoring list, but where are the studs getting the job done?
The Gunners are seventh in goals scored and fifth in expected goals, so there’s certainly a heaping helping of hope that this has been mostly bad luck. But they also have two of the top 25 xA men in he game in Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. These Gunners should be topping the table in points and goals. Instead they’ve let rivals stay in sight of the top despite those opponents not being near their best, either.
David Moyes an all-timer
It’s not just that West Ham’s players have completely bought into David Moyes’ rigid system despite this being the year 2023 (almost 2024!).
And it’s not even that they seem to relish the work.
It’s that West Ham, serial underachievers, are meeting the identity of their fans right where it wants to be, punishing opponents while also attacking with vigor when the opportunity presents itself.
Manager of the Year? It’s not a crazy thought, and barely more crazy than the Irons being right there in the top-four chase and being in with a shout for silverware in Europe.
What’s next?
Arsenal are right back at it early Sunday at Fulham, a 9am ET kick.
West Ham host Brighton at 2:30pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Arsenal vs West Ham final score: 0-2
Goal: Soucek (13'), Mavropanos (56')
Konstantinos Mavropanos goal: JWP assists again
It’s the ex-Arsenal center back who makes it 2-0, and he does not celebrate his thunderous header.
James Ward-Prowse sweeps a free kick toward the heart of the goal and Mavropanos gets high to thud home a goal.
Two goals down for the Gunners.
Arsenal vs West Ham at half: 0-1
The Arsenal team room will be a miserable place because the Gunners are controlling the ball and the play... and trailing at home.
There were mistakes on West Ham’s goal, and Arsenal just hadn’t had the required edge in the Irons’ third.
Bukayo Saka has cranked the post from an acute angle and seen a header pushed off the bar by Areola.
Shots are 9-3 for the Gunners, who’ve had 74% of the ball. They’ve taken four of the game’s five corners and are passing at 92%.
Not much to fix in the team room, short of an elite center forward arriving in a red shirt.
Lucas Paqueta injury
There were reports that Lucas Paqueta pulled up in warm-ups.
He was able to give it a go, but no more than 30 minutes as he’s crumbled to the turf and limping off with a leg injury.
Said Benrahma takes the place of one of the Premier League season’s leading assist men.
Hammers keep chopping
Arsenal’s holding the ball deep in the West Ham third, but the sharpness is not right and the Irons are hungry for missed touches.
So far, the Irons have either blocked shots or just taken away space for combination from the Gunners. Frustration’s growing.
We’d say that West Ham can’t do this for 90 minutes the David Moyes’ men have been doing this for the better part of a year.
Almost immediately, Alphonse Areola makes a great reaction save on a Bukayo Saka header. That was Arsenal’s best chance of the game.
Tomas Soucek goal (video)
For a dozen minutes, this was all Arsenal.
For the last 30 seconds, it was all Arsenal errors and now the Gunners are behind.
Oleksandr Zinchenko can’t deal with a cross and the Gunners look to get off the hook when the ball bounds wide of the goal.
Jarrod Bowen keeps the ball in — just — and Tomas Soucek pops it in the goal.
VAR review can only show Bowen’s effort to keep the ball was razor-thin, because Bowen’s blocking the ball from the end line camera. There’s no proof to overturn it conclusively, and so West Ham lead 1-0!
For what it’s worth, the ball did not appear to completely cross the line and looked slightly more in than Joe Willock’s play for Newcastle earlier this season against the Gunners.
How to watch Arsenal vs West Ham live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3:15pm ET, Thursday (December 28)
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Arsenal lineup
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 28, 2023
💪 Saliba at the back
✨ Trossard returns
🤙 Martinelli in attack
Come on you Gunners 👊 pic.twitter.com/XWVV86PrDh
West Ham lineup
Our team to take on Arsenal ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/5bcuyt6VDI
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 28, 2023
Focus on Arsenal, team news
OUT: Thomas Partey (thigh), Jurrien Timber (torn ACL - out for season), Fabio Vieira (hip), Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf), Kai Havertz (suspension)
Focus on West Ham, team news
OUT: Michail Antonio (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Nayef Aguerd (illness), Maxwel Cornet (illness)