Arsenal 0-2 West Ham (Soucek 13′, Mavropanos 55′, Benrahma missed pen 90+5′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — Arsenal could yet end 2023 at the top of the Premier League, but a damaging defeat to West Ham will give Mikel Arteta plenty to ponder as he plots a happier end to this season than last.
Another contentious goal will provide fuel to the online conspiracy theorists, but the concession of a second from a set-piece and a panicked response to going behind will worry even the most fervent of Arsenal believers. Nobody expected this.
Thanks to events in Newcastle last month we all know the word that would have been circling around Arteta’s brain after Jarrod Bowen was deemed to have kept the ball alive for Tomas Soucek’s opening goal: Desgracia.
The Spanish term that Arteta used when defending himself against an FA charge after his St James’ Park rant has connotations of misfortune which was apt for this latest VAR-troversy. The world’s most lucrative league didn’t have a camera angle that could definitively prove that the ball was out of play before Bowen tapped it across goal, and so it had to stand.
Had he done so a few yards over to the right, goal-line technology would have picked it up. Therein lies the limits of technology in its current guise. Thankfully, Amazon had the foresight to hire Mark Clattenburg to offer his expertise. “The ball looks to be slightly in play,” was the sheepish analysis from Saudi Arabia’s first true footballing trailblazer.
Whether the goal was legitimate or not, it was a mess of Arsenal’s own making, a belated Christmas present gift-wrapped for their grateful opponents.
What followed was entirely predictable: Arsenal domination versus West Ham submission. Defending a one-goal lead is the oldest trick in David Moyes’ book and one that has irked fans of a team featuring the attacking talents of Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta. Fair to say it worked a treat here.
They rode their luck before the break, though. Bukayo Saka forced superhero reflexes from Alphonse Areola before lashing a strike off the base of the post soon after as the Hammers sunk deeper toward the Clock End.
Disaster struck from one of the visitors’ attempted breakways when Paqueta pulled up less than an hour after receiving treatment during the warm-up, the one negative to an otherwise perfect evening.
Arsenal raced out of the blocks after half-time, racking up the corners and the half chances. Declan Rice, taunted with chants of “what a waste of money” by the fans who used to idolise him, bent a vicious strike inches over the bar after the restart.
The game’s second goal came from a player facing their former club. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t Rice. Konstantinos Mavropanos made seven Premier League appearances for Arsenal across a forgettable 18-month spell before being moved on and wouldn’t have even played had Kurt Zouma or Nayef Aguerd been available. His hands went up in respectful celebration, but the wide grin betrayed his delight.
Konstantinos Mavropanos silences the Emirates!
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 28, 2023
The former Arsenal man heads home brilliantly for West Ham's second#PLonPrime #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/KNXA11gGOV
It was a superb header that satisfyingly caressed the underside of the bar on its way in and one that Gabriel Jesus failed to replicate moments later at the other end. Much as the Brazilian offers his lack of ruthlessness places a limit on Arsenal’s ambition. Ivan Toney’s reputation is growing each week.
Arteta lobbed one attacking player onto the pitch after another in search of a route back. Leandro Trossard briefly found himself playing as a defensive midfielder. Emile Smith Rowe missed a header, Saka had a penalty appeal waved away, but West Ham saw out the game relatively comfortably to vindicate Moyes’ tactics.
A horrible night for Rice got even worse in added time when he tripped Emerson Palmieri inside his own box. David Raya at least prevented the scoreline from getting any worse, thwarting Said Benrahma from the spot as West Ham fans chanted Rice’s name.
It was the Scot’s first win away at Arsenal in his 23rd attempt. An unforeseen masterclass that will delight his former foes on Merseyside.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/kbdQTo9
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