West Ham outpunched by Arsenal in Boxing Day defeat
Arsenal 3-1 West Ham United
Premier League, Emirates Stadium, Monday 26 December 2022
West Ham United lost on their return to Premier League action, relinquishing a half-time lead to go down 3-1 at Arsenal on Boxing Day. Saïd Benrahma’s penalty gave the Irons a half-time lead at Emirates Stadium, but second-half strikes from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah made for an unhappy Christmas for David Moyes’ side. Defeat in north London was a fourth top-flight reverse in a row and left West Ham 16th in the table, while his former Everton captain Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are going great guns at the top of the standings. Following the 44-day break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, tributes were paid before kick-off to 1966 winner George Cohen, who had passed away on 23 December, aged 83.
When the action began, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Darren England was as involved as anyone in the first half, confirming an early ‘goal’ from Saka was rightly ruled out for offside. England then confirmed referee Michael Oliver’s decision to award West Ham a penalty for William Saliba’s sliding challenge on Jarrod Bowen, which knocked the speeding forward off-balance a yard inside the Arsenal 18-yard box. A confident, in-form Benrahma slammed unerringly past Aaron Ramsdale for his third goal in five Premier League matches. And the VAR’s hat-trick of interventions arrived in added-time, when he called Oliver to the pitch-side screen to review and overturn his initial decision to award the Gunners a spot-kick of their own, when he deemed Ødegaard’s shot had hit Aaron Cresswell in the hand, when in fact it had hit him square in the head! Away from the reviews, West Ham defended with determination and discipline, sitting deep but not too deep and repelling the Gunners’ repeated assaults. The hosts did have chances, of course, but Łukasz Fabiański saved from Granit Xhaka and forced Ødegaard to shoot wide, while centre-backs Craig Dawson and Thilo Kehrer each made an important block to deny Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah respectively. At the other end, West Ham may have had less than a third of possession in the first half, but they used what they did have well, with Benrahma working Ramsdale and Michail Antonio firing a powerful effort past the post either side of the Algerian’s goal.
Unfortunately, the Hammers were unable to maintain that defensive discipline and were punished within eight minutes of the restart. Ødegaard was the creator, finding Saka with a pass that caught out the visitors and, with Vladimír Coufal playing the England winger onside, enabled him to sidefoot his shot past Fabiański and in. And five minutes later, Arsenal went in front. Saka held off Rice, Ødegaard and Xhaka combined and Martinelli’s low shot flew between Fabiański’s right boot and the near post. Having fallen behind, the Irons’ previous belief, resilience and organisation slowly evaporated, while the table-toppers’ own confidence grew, and the Gunners went further in front 21 minutes from full-time. Again, the home side passed their way through before Nketiah span away from Kehrer and shot low to Fabiański’s left and into the net for 3-1.
With their opponents looking increasingly ragged, Ødegaard sought a goal to add to his two assists, but two left-footers curled narrowly past the post, before a third was kept out by Dawson’s head. Academy of Football forward Divin Mubama made his Premier League debut late on, but had precious little time to make a telling impact. Fellow substitute Pablo Fornals was denied by a flying Ramsdale save late on but, in truth, Arsenal were the dominant force overall and warranted their victory, while West Ham will need to dig deep to change their fortunes and end 2022 with a win at home to Brentford on Friday 30 December.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Kehrer, Cresswell, Rice ©, Souček (Fornals 78), Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma, Antonio (Mubama 87)
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Johnson, Ogbonna, Emerson, Coventry, Lanzini, Downes
Goal: Benrahma 24 (pen)
Booked: Bowen, Coufal
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Tierney (Zinchenko 73), Partey (Elneny 90+5), Xhaka, Saka, Ødegaard ©, Martinelli (Vieira 88), Nketiah
Subs not used: Turner (GK), Holding, Cédric, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Cozier-Duberry
Goals: Saka 53, Martinelli 58, Nketiah 69
Referee: Michael Oliver
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moyes: We’ve got to get back to being resilient and hard to play against
David Moyes has called on his squad to rediscover the qualities which helped them enjoy success at home and abroad in each of the previous two seasons. The resilience and clinical counter-attacking on which so much of West Ham’s recent improvement was based, enabling the Irons to finish sixth and seventh in the Premier League and reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals have seemingly become harder to come by in 2022/23. The result has been ten top-flight defeats in 16 matches, with the latest coming at Arsenal on Boxing Day, where Saïd Benrahma’s first-half penalty was cancelled out by second-half strikes from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah. Moyes and his side might be down, but they are not out, and the Scot has issued a rallying cry ahead of Friday’s final game of the calendar year at home to Brentford.
We didn’t enjoy how it went.
I didn’t really enjoy all the first half because I didn’t like Arsenal having the opportunities, and I wanted us to play better. We can organise them and get them defensively set up and in the main, over a few years, we’ve been able to do that in a lot of games, and maybe we’ve nicked a win or draw in some games with it and tonight, we’ve put ourselves in a position to do that. But we defended really poorly and made big mistakes in the second half. And also, we’ve got really unfortunate the first goal. The boy comes inside and he should have never been allowed the chance because we had a chance to break on them, then Ødegaard gets a chance to come inside and shoot and it just all felt too easy.
We wanted to keep the ball better but at the moment, they’re smothering everybody and it’s really difficult to play against them as they get a lot of pressure on you.
But we decided that we were going to try and play behind them, try to get in behind them, and I’ve got to say in the first half we did get in behind them three or four times. We’d have liked more of them ball, but that was a little bit how we wanted to play and it worked, but it only works if you’re going to keep doing the jobs and be resilient in don’t get pushed off the ball and make the right choices in defensive situations and in the second half we didn’t do that well enough.
The only thing I would say, as I’ve said to the players, is there was a team here a couple of years ago who wouldn’t have got pushed around or shoved around.
But we’re introducing a lot of new players and they’re not quite used to how we are and we’re still integrating them. But overall, look, there were some things tonight which hopefully will work for us in the games to come, but we’ve got to make sure that we get back to being tough and hard to play against and we were for about 50 minutes tonight. I have to say a few decisions went against us just after half-time. Maybe around 50 minutes two or three decisions went against us which didn’t help the momentum of the game.
The manager is always responsible, but I’ve got to say, sometimes you’re looking at the players and saying ‘Come on then, are you going to stand up and accept your mistake and what are you doing about it so it won’t happen again?’.
So, we’ve got to make sure that we get back to that, being hard to play against and hard to beat, a bit more resilient away from home, because we have to start winning some games away from home.
We need to create a positive atmosphere on Friday night with our performance.
We need to do it, the players need to do it and get a result, as that gets the crowd going. All the momentum built up over the last two years is because of the results we’ve had and that’s why the stadium was the way it is, or has been, so we have to find a way of getting the results.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bowen: It’s down to us players now, no heads down, and keep working
The players have to take responsibility to turn things around on the pitch, stated Jarrod Bowen following West Ham United’s 3-1 Premier League defeat at Arsenal. The No20 won a first-half penalty which Saïd Benrahma converted to see the Hammers 1-0 up at the interval in north London, although the lead was cancelled by three second-half goals from the leaders, who swept to a Boxing Day victory. For Bowen, a defeat to the current Premier League leaders was a tough way to start their resumption of the 2022/23 campaign, but the No20 made no excuses. Instead, the Hammers forward was quick to challenge himself and his teammates to a response on Friday evening when Brentford visit London Stadium. And Bowen is confident West Ham have the quality to turn it around. “It is not going our way,” Bowen stated, honestly, “but we have got to fight; it is down to us now. “We made it too easy for them to come back into the game. We’ve come away to a top team and we got ourselves ahead at half-time, and we had to withstand a lot of pressure, and obviously we expect that, but I think the way we conceded the goals is disappointing from us. “After [their first goal], they dominated. We should have been a bit more resilient in that spell. But it’s down to us players now, no heads down, and keep working. We have had difficult times before, and we have got through it. It is a massive mental thing more than anything. We have to keep believing in the ability in the squad. Yes, we are all disappointed, but when you fall below those standards [we have set over the last two years] you pay the price. “But we will stick together. It’s tough – nothing is ever easy in this league – it is about rolling our sleeves up and turning the tide our way.”
For Bowen, Friday’s home game with Brentford is an immediate opportunity to change the momentum in front of a home crowd returning to London Stadium after seven weeks away due to the mid-season FIFA World Cup break. “Where we are now is where we have to face up to as players,” Bowen stated. “You have to puff your chest out and go again. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We need to go again and keep pushing. “These fans are the best in the league – and they are going to be disappointed, with the situation, especially after the success that we have had. “But the main thing is that the fans are part of that spirit, and I know they will create a good atmosphere [on Friday]. And it is down to us as players to create a good atmosphere, it is down to us to give the fans a positive performance on the pitch.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cresswell: From the position we were in, it is disappointing
Aaron Cresswell was left frustrated as West Ham United saw a first half lead conclude as a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Boxing Day. Saïd Benrahma’s penalty – his third goal in five Premier League matches – gave the Irons hope of a first win at Arsenal since August 2015, and with a late Gunners’ spot-kick also overturned in the first half on a VAR review – with Martin Ødegaard’s shot hitting Cresswell’s face, rather than hands – the Hammers went into the interval with a slender lead to protect. But in the second half Arsenal proved too strong, as goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah saw David Moyes’ outfit fall to a fourth consecutive top-flight defeat, and after Cresswell left the field, his disappointment with the final result in north London was clear. “The first half was OK, but it was not good enough in the second half,” said the No3, who was part of the last West Ham team to win at Emirates seven seasons ago. “Once they got their first and second [goals] it was like we were pinned in. The third goal killed the game off. From the position we were in, it is disappointing.”
The Hammers knew a trip to Arsenal represented a tough start to the resumption of their 2022/23 Premier League campaign, with the Gunners moving seven points clear at the top of the table following their 13th win of the season. And it is clear that the Irons will need to pick themselves up as the festive fixture list continues with Brentford visiting London Stadium for another derby date on Friday 30 December. “It’s tough at the minute,” added Cresswell. “There are no hiding places now. We have to look at ourselves. It’s the players as a collective – together; it is frustrating and we have to put that right. “We will work again tomorrow. We have to look at Brentford. It’s a massive game and we need to get back to the training ground and work on things we need to. “All we can focus on is the next game. It is not where we want to be [in the table] and us as players have to take this responsibility because collectively, we have not been good enough. And we have to move into the next game and get the win.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
‘If Moyes doesn’t get wins under his belt soon, he could be in trouble
BBC.co.uk
West Ham manager David Moyes has some credit in the bank, but must start picking up wins sooner rather than later, says former Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Monday’s defeat by Arsenal was West Ham’s fourth in a row, leaving the Hammers just one point above the relegation zone. Schwarzer told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast: “It’s really danger zone for West Ham. Earlier in the season, a lot of us thought it was just a bad start, but the longer it goes on, the more the panic buttons will start to be pushed. “People will be concerned about this slump West Ham are in. David Moyes will know the pressure is on and this West Ham side are going to have to find the results, find a way of turning their results around quickly – otherwise they will find themselves in really big trouble. “I think if you look at his record, the know-how he has in the Premier League and what it takes to be successful, he is going to have that in his favour in the next couple of weeks. “But there always is a point for any owner of a club when they think there is no return and he has to be careful. There are still another four or five games in the bank, but if he doesn’t get wins under his belt soon, he could be in trouble.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Smothered, battered and beaten – but it’s just a blip, says Rice
By Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Monday, 26th December 2022
Skipper Declan Rice says West Ham are not fighting a relegation battle – yet. The England midfielder was part of the team beaten 3-1 at Arsenal tonight on another miserable night for the Hammers in a season which is rapidly looking like being a battle against the drop. Yet Rice insists that isn’t the case, for now at least. “I don’t think it is,” he said, in the wake of West Ham’s 10th Premier League defeat of the season. “Every team has a blip but it is down to me as captain to keep pushing everyone and keep giving 100% on the pitch like everyone else to get the results. “There are so many games to go, we still believe we are are a top team. We need to stop talking about it and need to show it. With the signings we have made, the quality is there. Now it is down to us to do it at both ends of the pitch.”
And Rice believes West Ham been unlucky in several games so far this season, even though they have avoided defeat in just six games since the 2022/23 league campaign commenced back in August. “There are games where we have played unbelievably well and not go the result, we have created chances in other games and not put the ball in the back of the net,” he said. “In the Premier League that is the main thing. There is a little gap arriving now and we are finding ourselves at the bottom of the league. It is a bump in the road we need to overcome.”
As for tonight’s defeat, in which West Ham led 1-0 at the interval before conceding three goals in 15 second half minutes, he hinted that defeat was perhaps inevitable. “In the first half we didn’t have much of the ball but stopped them and had a plan,” he added. “It is like Manchester City, in the end one of their chances will create something with their free-flowing football. “They smothered us all over the pitch.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
How David Moyes’ bubble burst at West Ham: A year ago they were flying high and heading for a European semi-final… now they’re a mess, flirting with the drop
* West Ham lost 3-1 to Arsenal in the Premier League on Monday night * They now sit just one point above the relegation zone after 16 matches * The team pushed for the top four and got to a European semi-final last term * They have lost their way since, and Moyes’ bubble has burst this season
By ADRIAN KAJUMBA FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:32, 27 December 2022 | UPDATED: 01:40, 28 December 2022
The Boxing Day blues are nothing new for West Ham — their 3-1 defeat at Arsenal was the eighth time in their last nine games on cold turkey day that they have failed to win. What will be of greater concern is that the loss sums up a sorry season that shows no sign of improving. After back-to-back top-seven finishes under David Moyes, this campaign is shaping up to be a battle to beat the drop. West Ham were sixth in the league on the same date last season and going well in the Europa League, and after a Boxing Day defeat against Southampton, were about to go on a four-game winning run.
David Moyes’ West Ham have experienced a massive downturn in form this season
Now they are 10 places lower in the table, a point outside the drop zone and desperately in need of a win against Brentford on Friday to stop the rot. Here Sportsmail looks at where it has all gone wrong for West Ham. After two excellent seasons (sixth then seventh and a Europa League semi-final) there was hope that after some exciting summer signings, this term would see an evolution of West Ham’s style. That has not been forthcoming.
[cid:image001.jpg@01D91A84.FD220250]
Their reactive, sit back and counter-attack approach — showcased once again at Arsenal — has been a cause for increasing complaint among supporters. They might accept it when the results are coming but when they are not, as is the case now, it is hard to stomach. Fans would love to see two up top — strikers Michail Antonio and Gianluca Scamacca — and the team operating more on the front foot but that does not seem to be in Moyes’s playbook. With the team higher up the pitch, £36million Lucas Paqueta, who excels for the Brazil national team, would also get more chance to shine.
Moyes’ team are too happy to sit back in the hope of nicking one on the counter attack
Injuries to new stars
There is sympathy in some quarters for Moyes over the difficulties he has had transitioning his new players into the team. He cannot argue that he has not been backed in the transfer market but he could claim he has been unfortunate with injuries. Nayef Aguerd was a £30m defensive summer signing but any hopes Moyes had of building a backline around him have been ruined by injuries which have limited the Moroccan to just one Premier League appearance. Scamacca, Paqueta, Maxwell Cornet and Emerson Palmieri have also all had their seasons disrupted by injuries, affecting their rhythm.
Away day blues
West Ham finished last season as the team with the eighth best home record and the eighth best away record. This term they are fifth bottom in the home table and third bottom in the away table. Their results on their travels are a real worry, with just one win in seven. And their hopes of improving that have not been helped by Moyes’s continuing difficulties when he takes teams to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. Moyes has now done so 71 times in his career as a manager and failed to win. One consolation is that all those trips are out of the way for this season.
Dip in the mood
It was not that long ago that the boss was being hailed as the Moyesiah for the turnaround he had overseen at the London Stadium after returning for a second spell when they were one point and one place above the bottom three in December 2019. The nickname is not as widely-used these days as many fans have turned on him and relegation concerns are beginning to creep in for some behind the scenes too. That mood seems to be affecting the players. Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou is one manager who is gaining support among Hammers fans. The failure of Moyes’s players to deliver on post-match social media promises to ‘improve next time out’ after every setback is testing the patience of fans.
Departing Declan
It is an open secret that this will be Declan Rice’s last season at West Ham. Rice could hardly have been clearer about his plans to secure a move to the next level while away with England during the World Cup. Given his influence and role as captain it would be no surprise if the uncertainty around their most important player has had an effect, even if he continues to perform well in the heart of midfield.
It is an open secret that this will be Declan Rice’s last season as a West Ham player
Sadly the same cannot be said of Tomas Soucek, who was once such an effective partner alongside Rice. He has not been the same since his first season yet has started every league game this campaign. That means alternatives, such as Paqueta or Flynn Downes, have yet to be explored. Another player yet to hit former levels is Jarrod Bowen, who is a shadow of the player who won an England call-up last season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
https://whufcdigest.wordpress.com/ or follow me on twitter @vyperz591
WHUFC Daily News 