Arsenal took on West Ham United at the London Stadium earlier this afternoon looking to close the gap to Chelsea in the race for a top 4 spot this season. The Gunners began the match on the backfoot with the Hammers creating some good opportunities for themselves in the first half. However, neither side managed to make a breakthrough in the first half as they went into the half-time break with nothing to show for their efforts.
The home team took the lead early in the second half when they scored through Declan Rice’s smart finish in the 48th minute. Manuel Pellegrini’s men controlled the game well and managed to grind out a 1-0 win on the day which left the North London outfit’s hopes of a top 4 finish in tatters.
Let’s take a look at how each Arsenal player performed during the match against the Hammers.
GK: Bernd Leno – 6/10
The German keeper couldn’t do much about Rice’s finish but did launch a few good counterattacks during the game.
CB: Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
He put in a good shift and kept things tidy at the back.
CB: Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 6/10
The Greek defender made some good tackles during the match but was guilty of losing concentration at times as well.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi – 5/10
Another very mediocre performance from the German defender. He never looked convincing at the back and needs to be dropped soon if the Gunners are to turn their fortunes around.
RM: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 5/10
The Arsenal youngster was not able to make any meaningful impact going forward.
CM: Matteo Guendouzi – 6/10
The French starlet was full of energy and worked his socks off in midfield.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 4/10
The Swiss international’s poor clearance led to the West Ham goal which would disappoint him. It was another horrendous showing from Xhaka which begs the question of whether Emery should play Torreira in place of him moving forward.
LM: Sead Kolasinac – 5/10
He tried his best to be a good outlet down the left flank. However, he lacked the cutting edge in the attacking end of the pitch.
LS: Alex Iwobi – 6/10
The Gunners winger was a good weapon down the left flank. He came the closest to scoring an equaliser in the second half and was unfortunate not to have better luck in front of goal.
RS: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 4.5/10
The Gabon forward failed to get into the game and was primarily a spectator on the pitch. He played a few good balls to his teammates but lacked the desire inside the opposition penalty box.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 5/10
The Frenchman squandered a few chances in the first half and failed to score the equaliser in the second when his team needed him to step up and make the difference up top.
Substitutes:
CM: Aaron Ramsey – 6/10
The Welshman provided some fresh legs in midfield after coming off the bench.
CM: Lucas Torreira – 6/10
The Uruguayan midfielder distributed the ball well and helped Arsenal dominate the game at the centre of the park.
RB: Hector Bellerin – 6/10
The Spaniard stretched the pitch for the Gunners but couldn’t create much going forward.
