Arsenal visit London stadium looking for revenge
It was supposed to be a potential tripwire for Arsenal. The scars of the Emirates shock had not faded. They hurt, especially as they had 30 shots at the opposition goal and lost by two goals.
In the end, it turned out to be sweet retribution. Coming off a statement win against the red-hot Liverpool, the Gunners continued to push with some enterprising football. The Liverpool win meant that there was wind in their sails.
It all began predictably, as Arsenal began briskly. In what is almost a pattern these days, they kept the ball, pressed hard, and looked at ease. It was business as usual, as West Ham kept their shape and the midfield patch was busy. It took just a quarter of an hour for the markers for the flavor of the afternoon to arrive. Arsenal shifted gears, and the West Ham box was busy as Saka, Trossard, and Martinelli got on to the ends of crosses from the midfielders and through balls dinked through by Martin Odegaard. Saka missed two chances, and Trossard missed the target by a whisker. In the technical area, the camera caught the impassive face of David Moyes. The blue eyes were unblinking, but after all the years in the trenches of the league, he probably had a voice in his ears that told him of the misery to come. The creases around the eye sharpened, and that is as much as he gave away.
Arsenal showcase a master class in Set-pieces.
Meanwhile, out on the field, his team gave away more and paid for it. They lost shape as the Arsenal set piece dominance revealed itself. Declan Rice, coming back to the London stadium to a not-so-sporting welcome, floated in a corner, and Saliba muscled himself into the mix in the box and headed home. The goalkeeper was nowhere near, once again detained subtly and quite legally by the impish Ben White, who has almost made an art out of it. The Gunners had broken through, and Moyes’s worst fears were about to unfold. The clanking of the shifting gears could almost be heard as Arsenal went a few up and the Hammers went down many.
West Ham’s structure dissolved as their box got hammered. A floater above the backline set Saka free. Arriving in the box with only the goalkeeper to beat, he sidestepped Areola, invited the inevitable trip, and got the penalty. Unlike the last time, he didn’t miss, and the home fans packing the stadium knew they had a tough afternoon ahead.
Within minutes, Gabriel smartly detached himself from the West Ham Line and nodded home a perfectly weighted set-piece floater from Rice. West Ham looked clueless. Arsenal were almost arrogantly strutting around, impervious in their moves and unrelenting with their attacks. The crowd was already looking at their watches and mentally scanning the train schedule.
Odegaard found a bit of space in the midfield and charged forward. Trossard kept pace besides him, went a few feet wide, and waited for that inevitable layoff from the captain. The Belgian was duly served with what he waited for, in perfect weight, and an effortless turn-and-shoot made it four goals in a 15-minute dream patch. West Ham were simply outclassed, and the exit gates saw a busy flow of distraught home fans.
West Ham’s worst day at office….
The half-time break hardly changed anything, as the Hammers just seemed to have lost their mojo. There were spaces everywhere as Arsenal passed the ball around with ridiculous ease. Another of those through passes from Odegaard, which reminded the Arsenal faithful of another magician, Mesut Ozil, sent Saka into the box unchallenged. Shifting his weight, Saka created the angle he needed with all the time in the world, and Arsenal had five on the board.
Records were being mentioned around the commentary boxes. Arsenal’s best away win and West Ham’s worst home defeat were all mentioned. The chatter became stronger on the hour as West Ham, already numb to pain, conceded again. Declan Rice, their talisman until last season, delivered the final blow. As Trossard and Odegaard waited on each other to collect a loose ball, Rice ran in and unleashed a wicked curler on the run and into the West Ham goal.
It was one of the most complete displays that the Gunners have delivered this season. The blip of the first week of the new year looked far away in the past. The Liverpool win was a statement, and this Sunday’s mauling of West Ham reiterated the threat to Liverpool and Manchester City in the race to the top.
It was a performance by a team in good nick. Rice and Odegaard had two assists, Saka had two goals, and three of the goals were from set pieces. Arsenal ticked all the boxes right at the expense of a woefully out-of-sorts West Ham.
The final lap will be here soon, and Arsenal have kept themselves well and truly in the mix. There is still a long way to go, and it will take many more of these rounded performances to keep the title in sight.
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Terrific match. Probably the most complete performance by Arsenal this season. COYG!!
Yes it was, I liked the way there were running hard even after 5 goals….