PLAYING WITHOUT JESUS
West Ham 3 Arsenal 1
The League Cup is a competition that has occasionally thrown West Ham and Arsenal together, notably in a January 1998 quarter-final at Upton Park when Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners. Samassi Abou scored for West Ham with fifteen minutes to go, but Wright and Overmars had already put Arsenal two up before that. The attendance that night was a surprisingly disappointing 24,770.
Tonight, having been told that this game is a sell-out, I can see great swathes of white seats across the other side of the ground. This is no compliment to Declan Rice on his first return to the ground he played at so superbly in the last five years, nor to the box office draw value of the other team from North London. On the Brazilian front, West Ham continue to enjoy the magic of Lucas Paquetá, whilst Arsenal are denied the skills of their main striker Gabriel Jesus, out with a hamstring injury until December.
The last time West Ham beat Arsenal in any fixture was at London Stadium on 12th January 2019, which is coming on for five years now and, curiously, the only goal that day was scored by Declan Rice, a couple of minutes after half time. Rice is not starting this evening, but I imagine it unlikely that we won’t see him on the pitch before the end of the game.
Both sides are fielding enough players to suggest that they still take the competition, or at least the opposition, seriously. Arsenal have opted for their two-footed tackling keeper Aaron Ramsdale rather than their loan trophy David Raya, from Brentford. I’ll certainly take that from what I know and have seen of both keepers.
Hammers need a decent start from the game, and match Arsenal in every department in the first quarter of an hour. Reiss Nelson curls in a free kick nine minutes in, but Fabianski, captain for the evening, is more than a match for Kai Havertz’s brilliant flick, and tips his goalbound attempt over the bar. It’s not a good time to discover that Arsenal are the PL’s most successful side in scoring from corners since the start of last season, managing 18. This next one, however, is met comfortably by the towering Souček who heads it powerfully away to safety.
Hammers have clearly some issue with the Arse, and there are just a handful of victories over them this century. That, and Liverpool away. As I am having this thought, an inswinging corner by Jarrod Bowen is headed firmly past his own keeper Ramsdale by Ben White. Yes, that’s right. The Ramsdale who should have been sent off for that challenge on Jarrod Bowen. Goes around, comes around… Is this the ‘beautiful moment’ Arteta predicted for Declan Rice on his return to London Stadium in an Arsenal shirt’?
Ten minutes later, Rice starts warming up for Arsenal on the touchline, initially greeted by home boos which are soon swamped by an outpouring of nostalgic applause. The miserable Hammers fans may be quicker to notice key events but are thankfully outnumbered by the fans who understand something about decency in football. Worth reflecting on his final West Ham stats perhaps. Played 245 matches, with 226 starts and 15 goals. Oh, and one trophy.
Arsenal enjoy most of the first half possession, but seem profoundly unable to do anything with it. Referee Simon Hooper has words with Souček after a challenge with Ramsdale from another Bowen corner. Souček was clearly ready to lamp the Arsenal keeper, whose collision with the post was probably fair retribution.
The extra effort by Kudus and chasing back by Benrahma show just what a team can do even when they don’t have possession. Arsenal enjoy a few corners and a little space in the midfield, but again seem unable to do anything with it.
The second half provides more West Ham pressure, Bowen put through by Paquetá after just 18 seconds, but Ramsdale claws it away to safety. Then just four minutes later, Hammers get a second, and what a goal it is. From a gentle pass out to him from Álvarez, Aguerd knocks a forty yard pass out to Kudus, who controls the ball expertly with the back of his feet as it lands, setting up a left foot smash into the corner of the net past Ramsdale.
Rice comes on, on 57 minutes, for Jorginho. But it doesn’t help. Just two minutes later Bowen gathers a poorly headed out clearance by Ben White and steadies himself momentarily before cracking it past the hapless Ramsdale. This is the same Ramsdale who is aiming to show Arteta that he was wrong to make new signing Raya Arsenal’s number one keeper. Goes around, comes around…
Now West Ham knock it around and Arsenal can’t get a hand on the ball. Emerson and Coufal link well and Álvarez and Aguerd finally look comfortable together at the back. Even the last kick of the game strike by Ødegaard can’t take the shine off this excellent Hammers’ performance.
Catching the game later again at home, I am delighted to discover that Sky have appointed my old mate Alan Smith as summariser on the commentary team for this evening’s game. For this reason alone, I will now watch the full 90 minutes all over again. It’s a shame to revel in his discomfort, but hearing Smith struggle to retain the necessary neutrality that such a job invariably demands, makes up for the many hours I have spent enduring the undeserved praise he regularly heaps on the Gonners.
For all the statters out there, Arsenal were unbeaten in their last eight games with West Ham, but even with ex-Brighton star Trossard in their ranks, mere history wasn’t enough to force the odds this time.
1 Lucas Fabianski (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 33 Emerson, 15 Konstantinos Mavropanus, 19 Edson Álvarez, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 11 Lucas Paquetá, 28 Tomas Souček, 22 Saïd Benrahma, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 23 Thilo Kehrer, 7 James Ward-Prowse
Goalscorers: Ben White (own goal), Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen
