Misfiring Arsenal spurned the chance to reclaim first place within the Premier League as they misplaced 2-0 to spirited fellow Londoners West Ham United on the Emirates on Thursday.
Arsenal’s Spanish supervisor Mikel Arteta reacts on the finish of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and West Ham on the Emirates Stadium in London on December 28, 2023(AFP)
West Ham solely had three efforts on the right track however Tomas Soucek gave them a halftime lead earlier than former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos prolonged the benefit after the break.
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Arsenal had greater than twice as many probabilities however didn’t take any because the guests defended gamely.
Second-placed Arsenal stay on 40 factors, two behind Liverpool who beat Burnley 2-0 on Tuesday.
“This is a very disappointing night for us,” Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta advised reporters. “We have to put the ball in (the net) and win it (the game).”
West Ham took the lead towards the run of play after 13 minutes when Soucek netted after a pull-back from Jarrod Bowen who seemed as if he simply managed to maintain the ball in play.
“It’s difficult because the ball was in the air,” Bowen advised Amazon Prime. “It was hard to tell. It would have been easier to tell if it had been on the ground.”
ARSENAL BLITZ
After that it was an Arsenal blitz with Bukayo Saka hitting the publish and Gabriel Jesus lacking two good probabilities earlier than Mavropanos scored his first league objective for the Hammers with a thumping header from a James Ward-Prowse nook within the fifty fifth.
“I think the best moment to score my first goal for West Ham and in the Premier League,” mentioned Mavropanos. “We work a lot on the set-pieces, so it was great. It is an important win for everyone and for our boss. We are really happy.”
West Ham may have made it three from three probabilities however Said Benrahma had a penalty saved by David Raya in added time after a foul by former West Ham captain Declan Rice.
The defeat raises acquainted questions on Arsenal’s title credentials. They led the league this time final yr solely to falter within the run in and be overtaken by Manchester City.
It could have been a kind of nights when issues simply didn’t occur in entrance of objective however ending stays a problem.
As nicely as placing the publish, Saka additionally had a close to point-blank header stopped by Alphonse Areola, who made a string of high-quality saves within the second half too.
Jesus ought to have a scored when Arsenal had been nonetheless one objective behind however headed over an open objective whereas fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli additionally missed good alternatives.
The win leaves West Ham in sixth place on 33 factors and marked a landmark night time for his or her supervisor David Moyes who had by no means received at Arsenal within the league in 22 makes an attempt.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
