Thanks for joining me. I am off for a cold bath to calm down.
Here is Nick Ames’ lovely report.
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Lacazette: “My feeling is mixed between proud of team for coming back in the second half and being poor in the first half. We did not respect the coach’s game plan.”
West Ham love an own goal. Jamie Carragher will have enjoyed it.
West Ham sum the match up.
The points are shared.#WHUARS
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 21, 2021
Let us all try and make sense of that. West Ham will be disappointed with not taking away all three points but they certainly played their part in an absolute cracker of a clash. I am sure Moyes will have a few complaints about some of the officiating, so it will be interesting to hear from him.
Full-time! West Ham 3-3 Arsenal
WHAT A GAME! I spent most of the first half explaining how ruddy awful Arsenal were but they showed plenty of character and quality to bounce back. With Odegaard pulling the strings and Chambers whipping in dangerous crosses every five seconds, they were more than good enough for the win. West Ham, however, also had their chances after the break with Antonio left to rue his miss. I think we should just all be very pleased how good the game was.
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90+2 mins: West Ham get a free-kick on the right. Coufal whips the ball into the box but Leno reads it and punches clear.
90 mins: Arsenal have a dangerous free-kick around 30 yards from goal on the right. Odegaard, Arsenal’s best player, swings it towards the far post but no one can get on the end of it, as the ball bounces inches wide.
Three minutes added on.
88 mins: Another incredible Chambers cross is flung into the box, forcing Fabianski off his line to punch away.
Striker!
11 - Alexandre Lacazette has scored his 11th league goal of the last season, one more than he netted in the entirety of 2019-20. Comeback. pic.twitter.com/RG8ILcLT6w
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 21, 2021
86 mins: Rice drives from the edge of his own box, beyond the halfway line and into the Arsenal box, before whacking a fearsome drive which Leno palms away.
Down the other end, Pepe has a chance but his shot is a tame one and Fabianski gobbles it up.
84 mins: Our man at the match.
What a game this is. Three pre-assists for Odegaard, who has been the best player on this pitch by some way since 3-0.
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) March 21, 2021
GOAL! West Ham 3-3 Arsenal (Lacazette, 82)
RUDDY HELL! Pepe gets to the byline and pings a beautiful cross to the back post where Lacazette is waiting between two defenders, allowing him to head home.
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80 mins: Chambers is the new Beckham judging by his crosses from the right. The latest causes panic in the defence but the Hammers just about get it clear before and Arsenal man to get a shot away.
78 mins: Fredericks is coming on for West Ham as the hosts look to shut up shop. I am not sure that will guarantee it.
76 mins: Bloomin’ heck! Lingard powers into the box and the ball is jabbed a shot towards goal, it goes under Leno but Chambers is there to clear before a claret shirt can pounce on the loose ball.
Benrahma gets through the Arsenal defence and flings the ball across the six-yard box but a stretching Antonio can only push the cross onto the post with the goal gaping.
Justin Kavanagh asks: “So which Hammer will get the equalizer? My money’s on Cresswell marking his big day by sticking one past Fabianski.”
Moyes might come on to do it.
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74 mins: Rice swings a cross for Antonio to attack but Arsenal players are in the way and the ball is sent clear.
Noble is coming on for Bowen, while Smith Rowe and Pepe replace Xhaka and Saka. A bold move by the Gunners.
72 mins: Antonio seems to be operating as an auxiliary left-back at the moment, which is a sign of how far West Ham have been pushed back.
70 mins: Pepe and Ceballos are warming up. I suspect Pepe will be the first one to come on but I can’t think who for. Maybe Saka.
68 mins: Lacazette and Aubameyang combine, allowing the latter to get into the box, with the ball eventually landing at Odegaard’s feet. The Norwegian smashes a shot straight at a defender, though. Odegaard is playing superbly between the lines now.
66 mins: The ball is played into the box by Lingard, reaching Bowen whose first shot is blocked and then Antonio has his effort turned behind.
Now it is Moyes who will have changes on his mind. Maybe he will need to bring Benrahma off in favour of someone a bit more defensive-minded.
63 mins: Odegaard swing in a corner from the right but Diop is there to head clear. The ball comes straight back at the Hammers and they are really under the cosh here.
GOAL! West Ham 3-2 Arsenal (Dawson og, 61)
West Ham are very unhappy as Moss are given a free-kick after Bowen goes down. The referee is right, though, allowing Arsenal to restart quickly, as Odegaard slips the ball to Chambers to fire in a sharp cross which Dawson whacks into the back of his own net. That’s two in two weeks for the defender. GAME ON!
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59 mins: Antonio takes West Ham into the opposition box for possibly the first time this half but he only succeeds in thwacking a drive over the bar.
Aubameyang and Coufal go down together on the edge of the box. The West Ham man goes into the book for blocking off the Gabonese striker, getting a booking for his troubles, not helped by the fact he grabbed hold of the ball before the whistle was blown.
57 mins: Moyes gets onto the pitch after referee Moss blows up with West Ham in a good position. Moss has a word with the Hammers boss, who is not happy still. He is continuing his moans with the fourth official.
55 mins: Odegaard swings in a free-kick which Luiz gets on the end of but he can only lift the ball over the bar. West Ham have barely had a kick since the break.
Stephen Carr says: “Afternoon Will. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal got back in to this. Moyes doesn’t handle this sort of situation well.”
53 mins: Odegaard flicks the ball into Lacazette on the edge of the box, allowing the Frenchman to spin and whack a left-footed shot towards goal but Fabianski holds it well.
51 mins: It is West Ham’s turn to be camped inside their own area and Arsenal look for a way through. Arsenal are certainly on top here and look like creating plenty of chances.
49 mins: Peter Oh says: “Tomas Soucek is certainly burning the candle at both ends so far. If he manages to get himself sent off as well he’ll have outdone Erik Lamela’s rabona goal-and-marching orders combo from last week.”
Only time will tell.
47 mins: Lacazette gets beyond the West Ham backline and lifts the ball over Fabianski. Just as it looks like the ball into the back of the net, Diop gets back and overhead kicks the shot off the line. Arsenal have started the second half where they left off in the first.
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Second half
Here we go again!
David Harris has an answer: “To answer David Goldiner’s quibble, the ball was stationary for a few seconds before Lingard’s pass (also, on the replay you can just see Jared Bowen signalling for Lingard to nip it through quickly).”
Ruth Purdue says (re 15:35 post): “Why is loaning out Lingard a problem? He deserves to play week in, week out. It wasn’t some sort of diabolical plan from Ole.
“I personally appreciate his qualities but I think I was a minority at United. His link up plan at speed especially is excellent. He was shown Iniesta videos when coming through at United.
“Lingard playing like this and enjoying himself is great to see after everything he has been through, especially his dealings with Him.”
There is no issue with it. It’s a good thing (unless you’re a Leicester or Chelsea fan).
David Goldiner asks: “Arsenal are garbage but ...
“Explain why it was OK for West Ham to restart for second goal when ball was moving and ref puling out his foam.
“What determines when you can restart?”
The referee is the all-knowing arbiter.
Why not use this time to sign up for The Fiver? It is (occasionally) humorous.
The opener.
Jesse Lingard 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 playing against Arsenal!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 21, 2021
He fires West Ham in front with a peach of a half volley before teeing up Jarrod Bowen for a second moments later! 🍑
📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
📱 Follow #WHUARS here: https://t.co/s6hcwc5HV2
📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/lUxJWFQwxx
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Half-time: West Ham 3-1 Arsenal
All it took for Arsenal to get up to speed in this game was to concede three goals. The Gunners were pitiful in the opening half an hour, allowing West Ham to run riot. The Soucek own goal will at least make the second half a bit more fun.
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45 mins: Two minutes added on.
44 mins: Soucek dives into a tackle on Odegaard, catching the Real Madrid loanee on the top of the foot. Not much in it, to be fair.
42 mins: Chambers marauds down the right once more but West Ham have enough bodies back to block the cross. Odegaard swings in the corner from the right but West Ham force the ball out of the area via the goalkeeper’s fist. Partey whacks a shot but it flies high and wide.
40 mins: It might end up being a Soucek own goal as the ball looked to be going wide when it hit the midfielder’s shin and flew beyond Fabianski. Will it be enough to get Arsenal back into this?
Arsenal certainly look livelier now, as Lacazette flicks a pass through for Saka who beats Cresswell for pass but his fierce drive from 20 yards is well held by Fabianski.
GOAL! West Ham 3-1 Arsenal (Lacazette, 38)
Chambers pings a cross into the box, which is controlled by Lacazette around the penalty spot, allowing the Frenchman to smash a half-volley into the net via a deflection off a man in claret and blue.
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37 mins: What can Arsenal do to change things? First of all, they can bin off their two mediocre centre-backs, then find a better right-back. It might also be useful to learn that if you are incapable of passing the ball out of the back to stop doing so.
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36 mins: It’s a really good job Arsenal have picked Chambers because he is tall. It’s made a huge difference so far.
34 mins: Cormac de Barra emails: “United loaning out Lingard to a Champions League rival, and also possibly making it more difficult for their rivals warrants a bit of scrutiny.”
Maybe they are just trying to stop Chelsea qualifying.
GOAL! West Ham 3-0 Arsenal (Soucek, 32)
It goes from bad to worse for Arsenal as they lose the ball in their own defensive third, allowing Coufal to pump a cross into the box for Antonio to head towards goal, with the ball finding the back of the net via the right boot of Soucek.
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29 mins: Chambers pings a cross into the box but it goes no further than Cresswell, who turns it behind. The short corner comes to nothing after a few failed attempts to get the ball into a dangerous position.
27 mins: Arsenal slowly pass the ball around the back four, which ends as Mari plays it straight to Bowen 25 yards from goal. The Gunners regroup and manage to clear. This is going terribly for Arsenal at the moment.
25 mins: Saka bamboozles Lingard, resulting in a trip on the Arsenal man wide on the right. Odegaard swings in the set-piece which Fabianski fumbles, dropping the ball to the floor but the goalkeeper grabs it at the second time of asking, much to his relief.
23 mins: Odegaard drags Arsenal forward thanks to some nice interplay between him and Tierney, only for the Norwegian to see his shot from 25 yards deflected straight into Fabianski’s arms.
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21 mins: Tierney does his best to instigate an attack but his cross is easily blocked by Coufal.
19 mins: West Ham have been the far better side since the off and they are really taking advantage of how slow and sloppy Arsenal have been. Arteta might need to find some energy off the bench as there is none of the pitch.
GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Arsenal (Bowen, 17)
Lingard takes a quick free-kick while Arsenal are daydreaming. The midfielder slips it into Bowen in space inside the box, the forward gets it out of his feet and fires a low shot through Leno at the near post. The goalkeeper should really do better there.
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GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Arsenal (Lingard, 15)
WHAT A HIT! Great work by Antonio sees the forward drive into the box, before pulling the ball back to Lingard on the edge of the area, where the loanee controls the pass and smashes a shot into the top corner.
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14 mins: Bowen latches onto a pass over the top and takes the ball into the area before going down with Mari in close proximity. Jon Moss waves the incident away, which is fair enough as he didn’t touch him.
12 mins: Arsenal finally have the ball in the opposition half, ending with a weak Tierney cross being cleared at the near post. A football match might break out here soon.
10 mins: A cross is lifted into the box by Antonio, allowing a marauding Soucek to get his head onto the ball but his effort goes well wide.
West Ham have made 33 passes in the final third in the opening 10 minutes. Arsenal have made zero. A sign of how badly this is going for the visitors.
8 mins: Arteta was vocal pre-match about how Arsenal had to play on Thursday night but if they are to become a great team again, they need to accept playing twice a week. They’ve looked very sluggish thus far.
6 mins: West Ham have started the brighter here, forcing Arsenal onto the back foot. Arteta will not mind too much at this point but will not be keen on the Hammers holding the the power for much longer.
4 mins: Lingard tries to get the better of Partey but the Arsenal man sticks with him every inch of the way. The ball makes its way across the pitch, ending up at Coufal’s feet on the edge of the box but he flashes his shot over the bar.
2 mins: Cresswell swings in a cross from deep which is deflected out for a corner. The left-back goes over to take it but lands it on Xhaka’s head and the ball is cleared.
Kick-off!
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Bubbles have been blown.
It is a delightfully mild day in London, I can confirm. I will be having strong words with any players who deem it necessary to wear gloves for this match.
Paul Merson has just described Jesse Lingard as a ‘midfield Heskey’. I am a huge fan of this.
There is a bit more oomph to the West Ham side this week thanks to the return of Lingard, who was ineligible to face his main employer Manchester United last week. Benrahma also comes into the team, as the Hammers look to be more creative following their blunt efforts at Old Trafford.
GOALS!
Charles Antaki emails to say: “Once more the Arsenal roulette wheel turns; will it be a David Luiz aberration, a Xkaka lunge or merely another instalment in the series of Aubameyang misses? I think I can remember the days of routine wins over the likes of West Ham, but the memories are beginning to fade.”
Something to look out for.
A decent achievement for the lad.
🧮 217 and counting…
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 21, 2021
Today @Aaron_Cresswell becomes our second-highest Premier League appearance-maker, behind only Nobes. What an achievement 👏#WHUARS pic.twitter.com/MDMlAuNNHm
Arsenal have plenty of attacking players in their side. It will be interesting to see how Soucek and Rice cope with Odegaard today. He has shown glimpses of what he can do for the Gunners without dominating a game since arriving in January.
Moyes and Arteta together again.
Aubameyang is back into the Arsenal starting lineup after his misdemeanour last week, which saw him turn up late for the north London derby.
Starting lineups
West Ham: Fabianski, Cresswell, Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Lingard, Benrahma, Antonio.
Subs: Martin, Trott, Balbuena, Lanzini, Ibsen, Noble, Fredericks, Johnson, Odubeko.
Arsenal: Leno, Tierney, Mari, Chambers, Luiz, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
Subs: Ryan, Gabriel, Holding, Ceballos, Cedric, Pepe, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Martinelli.
Good afternoon!
If at the start of the season, one were to say this match would be between a side with an innovative manager chasing a top-four spot and another whose head coach is under pressure having built a side only capable of reaching 10th place, few would have thought West Ham would be the team in the better position.
David Moyes has reinvigorated a club going nowhere prior to the start of the campaign. Currently, they sit fifth behind Manchesters City and United, Leicester and Chelsea, which is quite a feat considering they are besting even Liverpool. Meanwhile Arsenal are five places and seven points worse off than their London rivals.
Arsenal, sadly, are still flirting with the idea of being competent but really it does not seem to suit them. Their squad in imbalanced and the recruitment has rarely helped make it a cohesive unit. They just about held off Olympiakos in the week, despite losing a home to the Greeks in the competition which gives them the best chance of winning.
Today’s fixture gives Moyes and West Ham another chance to prove their superiority over Arsenal, something that might make Gunners fans realise how grim their current predicament is.
Here’s to a cracking game.
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