Slaven Bilic and West Ham have had anything but an ideal start to the 2016/17 Premier League season, and Saturday’s result against Arsenal was a humble reminder of how far the club must come if they are to compete with England’s big boys.
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Despite Andy Carroll’s late consolation for the Hammers seven minutes from time, Arsenal built up a throttling 5-1 victory at the London Stadium, leaving West Ham in 17th place.
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West Ham has now conceded nine goals in its previous two matches in all competitions, and have also failed to muster up a victory in six straight fixtures.
For Carroll, the English striker chalked the result up to Arsenal’s ability to punish West Ham when they became sloppy with the ball.
Angelo Ogbonna cost West Ham in a big way during the first half after committing a turnover to Alexis Sanchez, who then set up Mesut Ozil for an easy tap-in near goal.
The Hammers had trailed 1-0 heading into the final 20 minutes, but Sanchez notched the first of his three goals in the 72nd minute and then proceeded to complete his hat-trick in a span of 14 minutes.
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While Bilic and co. will certainly be deflated following Saturday’s home defeat, Carroll believes the Hammers can turn things around with a simple shift in mentality.
“I’m feeling good but at times like this we need to focus on the team, rather than individuals. We have to improve,” Carroll said.
“We’ve got a good group and I’m sure we can pull ourselves out of it, but at the minute we’re in a tough spell.”