Here’s Nick Ames’ match report.
Eddie Nketiah speaks.
It was my second touch maybe. It was nice to get on and score. it was nice for [Ceballos] to make that assist. It’s all love now. Its great vision from him and I had to make sure I stayed onside. I want to help the team and keep improve as a player. West Ham made it very difficult. We had to keep going.
And a bit of Mikel Arteta
🗣"I am really happy with the 3 points but we still have to improve in many things"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 19, 2020
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal's performance pic.twitter.com/SlGQltCAde
Updated
Full-time: Arsenal 2-1 West Ham
A big, happy smile from Mikel Arteta. West Ham played well but were undone by the quality of Nketiah and his assist from Dani Ceballos for the winning goal. That was a real contest, and far more than was expected in pre-match.
Updated
90+4 min: Nketiah and Pepe both have shots blocked and there’s a corner that Arsenal will take their time over. Ceballos hold it in the corner.
90+2 min: West Ham pouring forward. Ceballos, the match-winner, saves his team at the other end when Haller was shaping to shoot. The Spaniard bravely steps across and clears.
90 min: Four minutes added on. As that’s announced, a shot from Aubameyang warms the hands of Fabianski.
89 min: Final Hammers change: Masuaku off, and Felipe Anderson off.
88 min: West Ham change: Fornals off for Haller.
Arsenal change: David Luiz for Saka. There was also a classic David Moyes grimace as that was taking place.
Updated
86 min: Ceballos, who had been otherwise quiet, set up that goal just as he was about to be replaced by Elneny. Nketiah showed good awareness by staying onside to slot in.
Updated
Goal! Arsenal 2-1 West Ham (Nketiah, 85)
That came from nowhere. Ceballos escapes down the left, and lays up Nketiah, who scores from close range.
Updated
84 min: Leno flaps at the ball and then Sucek, as the ball comes back in, rises highest but doesn’t get near it. There was no foul and it will not be a penalty.
83 min: West Ham sub: Off goes Bowen, and on comes Yarmolenko.
82 min: A good pass from Xhaka and Kolasinac fails to adequately control it.
81 min: This has been far more even than expected and could do either way. A nightmare if you are writing the live match piece, as dear Nick Ames will be doing, but it keeps the likes of us entertained and intrigued.
79 min: Arsenal force a pair of corners. Masuaku heads away both of them. Aubameyang is going in search of the ball now, dropping deeper. There isn’t much happening in that Arsenal midfield.
77 min: Lacazette goes off, having scored his 50th Arsenal goal. Eddie Nketiah comes on instead.
76 min: Saka goes down too easily in an attempt to win a free kick or even penalty - he dived into the box - but Michael Oliver is on the scene and waves it away.
74 min: The corner was poor and headed away by Rice. Arsenal though get the ball back on the counter. Then West Ham launch an attack. It’s end to end and far more entertaining than the first half.
73 min: Arsenal have gone a long time without creating a chance. But they finally force a corner when Diop has to clear behind.
71 min: Antonio with a smile on his face, as has Rob Holding. Again, the friendly vibe continues. Deccy Rice is flabbergasted when he escapes after a slip by Ceballos but is hauled back. Soucek, who has been excellent, fires a shot wide.
69 min: Arsenal increasingly ragged. West Ham adventurous, but will they pay for that adventure?
67 min: Soucek gets off the floor, and Antonio heads against the bar! So close and that’s followed by some mild panic as Leno drops the ball as he comes out to claim the ball.
Updated
66 min: Bowen’s shot is blocked as West Ham continue to pour forward. There will be a break in play after a collision of heads between Xhaka and Soucek. The West Gam player came off worst and he is being checked over. He looks groggy to say the least.
64 min: Arsenal sub: Pepe comes on for Willian, who didn’t have the best game tonight.
Updated
63 min: West Ham still pushing on for a goal. Arsenal having to defend in numbers. Their creative players a little starved of the ball at the moment.
61 min: Ooof, so close. Bowen swings and misses and then Gabriel shanks it behind with the goal gaping. It was Soucek causing the problems there. Arsenal are shaky. At the other end, Lacazette is again wasteful.
58 min: The passing and probing is being done by West Ham now. Saka has to concede a corner. Leno punches clear. This more even than might be expected. Arsenal are by no means the complete article. They hit flat spots in matches.
56 min: Arsenal dominating possession at the moment but the door is not completely shut on West Ham. They need more from someone like Fornals, though.
55 min: Ceballos has not been at his best, but there’s some neat skill before Lacazette gets a bit too creative and tries to chip the ball up and round Fabianski. It comes to nothing.
53 min: Arteta and his assistant are looking at something on an iPad. The new series of the Mandalorian? Their attention is diverted elsewhere when Gabriel’s intervention stops what would have been a free header for Antonio.
Updated
52 min: Kolasinac and Aubameyang link up down the left but Tierney’s extra skill is being missed on that left flank. A cross comes in from Auba and is leathered away from danger.
50 min: Aubameyang is stopped by a Soucek tackle, having shown a bit too much of the ball.
49 min: Leno continues to wander around, many yards from his area. Shades of Claudio Bravo or Rene Higuita but perhaps not as fun. Maybe a bit more Manuel Neuer, who was so good during that Champions League tourney.
47 min: Saka is baulked as he shoots and the ball comes off Dop. The corner is cleared and Leno comes all the way to the halfway line to clear. A risky business.
46 min: We are back underway. Lacazette begins the second half by falling to the floor. He seems to have taken a knock and perhaps somewhere delicate.
Half-time: Arsenal 1-1 West Ham
It had looked as if Arsenal might add to Lacazette’s goal but then they were opened up a devastating break by West Ham. Antonio’s goal was well taken. And we have a decent second half in store.
Goal! Arsenal 1-1 West Ham (Antonio, 45+1)
Willian, in his free-ish role, comes out to the flank but his cross is poor. And West Ham break. Fredericks and Soucek link, and then Antonio slots in.
Updated
43 min: West Ham sitting back, and soaking up a fair bit of pressure. It’s been a game of few chances so far. Arsenal, though, have taken the big one.
41 min: The word on that Gabriel handball is that it was a case of the armpit coming into play. Who knows? The new law seems as silly as the last one.
39 min: Xhaka playing in a relaxed fashion. You didn’t see that a year ago. Saka meanwhile is on the end of a crunching tackle. Kolasinac’s shot is blocked. Saka gets back up and Fredericks is booked for a high tackle that was more a high kick to the kidneys than attempt to address the ball.
37 min: Arsenal zipping the ball around neatly enough but not at the level of Fulham last week.
35 min: David Moyes was not happy with that decision but he is being ignored by the referee.
34 min: An Arsenal handball? Gabriel looked to have handled it in his box - if Victor Lindelof handled it at Old Trafford. But VAR overrules. How’s that for consistency? Clue: it’s not and nobody seems to have a clue how to implement the rules.
33 min: A couple of similar points made in the mailbox. Chris East: “The Hammers can’t really be in that desperate straits coz it seems they are leaving at least a hundred mill on the bench tonight.”
And Robert Lin: “West Ham do have a fair but of quality on the bench though: Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Haller. They have all proven their class at other stages of their career. You have to wonder what the problem is here with Moyes?”
31 min: The Hammers far more circumspect. David Moyes even more antsy. He’s muttering to himself already.
29 min: West Ham starting to go long with the ball which isn’t a good sign. Willian surges forward, and has become a force in the game. He releases Saka on the left but the shot smashes over. Saka is also finding space now.
28 min: Arsenal instantly look more relaxed. West Ham had unnerved them with all that chasing.
26 min: That goal owed much to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s skill on the flank and a cross that meant Lacazette could not miss. A blow to West Ham; they were carved open by Arsenal’s superior quality.
Goal! Arsenal 1-0 West Ham (Lacazette, 25)
Or is it? There was a hint of offside as Lacazette nodded in.
Updated
24 min: All smiles between Lacazette and Ogbonna as they clash in midfield. This does have something of a friendly vibe about it.
22 min: West Ham doing plenty of chasing. None of Arsenal’s ball players have been able to get on on the action. Saka is suddenly involved, having been anonymous, and looks to have been brought down, only for him to be flagged offside.
21 min: Nice run by Bellerin, even better tackle by Rice as Arsenal stage what is a rare attack.
19 min: This, er, has not been very entertaining. Just as David Moyes would like it to be, you have to say.
Updated
17 min: “West Ham lack a bit of quality,” says Mary Waltz. “That’s a “bit” of an understatement.” Fair point, well made.
16 min: Bowen goes down in the Arsenal box. Penalty? No, he was too obviously looking for it, and fell over Gabriel’s leg. Rob Holding breathes easy; his loose pass led to that scare.
Updated
14 min: West Ham much better organised than last week. That’s a plus. Antonio has a shot, but it’s not enough to beat Leno at his near post.
12 min: There is a break for VAR but nobody knows quite why. Referee Michael Oliver waves on play in any case. Clear as mud.
10 min: Arsenal not impressive here. West Ham ought to be relatively happy, though they perhaps lack a bit of quality.
8 min: West Ham free-kick. Cresswell takes it short and Rice whacks it off the wall for a corner. The corner is cleared then Lacazette fouls Cresswell. West Ham keep winning territory. But their set pieces have not been up to much. Ogbonna clears Cresswell’s free-kick.
6 min: Gabriel falters, and Jarrod Bowen almost steals in. Arsenal’s defence has not exactly looked rock solid.
4 min: Masuaku forces a corner, having made a long run down the byline. Rice rises to head it down and Ogbonna stoops to nod into Leno’s arms. A half-chance.
3 min: Willian and Lacazette link up in the West Ham box, only for the French striker’s touch to fail him. Had he controlled that properly a goal seemed highly likely.
1 min: David Moyes looks antsy on the sidelines. His pre-match interview as a tad moribund too. The fake Arsenal crowd are roaring on their heroes at the empty Emirates.
And away we go....
The players take the knee and West Ham get us underway.
Updated
The teams take to the field and a blast of the Premier League’s atonal new anthem greets them. It’s a classic of the corporate genre.
Some news: Kieran Tierney has pulled up in the warm-up and has been replaced by Sead Kolasinac, who is getting instructions from new boy Gabriel.
Mikel Arteta says it’s been a good news week, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signing his new deal. He also says West Ham can be “a dangerous team”.
David Moyes says Mark Noble, his missing captain, has a toe injury, and has not recovered yet after having an injection.
Robert Lin has a prediction: “Expect a comfortable win for the Gunners tonight with some silky attacking football. I’ll say 3-0 with Auba and Laca both on the scoresheet.”
And the latest on Crisis FC from Jacob Steinberg.
A couple of lines from this week from the excellent Nick Ames.
The teams
Arsenal: Leno, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Bellerin, Ceballos,
Xhaka, Saka, Willian, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Subs: Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Luiz, Elneny, Nketiah, Kolasinac, Macey.
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell,
Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Fornals, Masuaku, Antonio.
Subs: Balbuena, Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Lanzini, Haller, Johnson, Randolph.
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Preamble
Let’s face it, a West Ham win here would be a severe shock. Last week against Newcastle they were hopeless, and the best thing that could be said was that at least the fans were not there to watch them at the London Stadium. David Moyes’ is an unhappy ship while Arsenal’s garden is relatively rosy after their 3-0 win at Fulham last week. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signing up to a contract extension has also lifted spirits further for the FA Cup winners. It is five long years since Dimitri Payet inspired a 2-0 win at Emirates and a repeat of that would probably be one of the biggest surprises of the entire 2020-21 season.
