Full Time: Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
Unai Emery enjoyed his first Premier League win, as Arsenal came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 at the London stadium.
It is West Ham who opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Marko Arnautovic drilled in past Petr Cech after some brilliant one-touch passing with Felipe Anderson near the edge of the box. The lead lasted just five minutes, with Nacho Monreal tapping converting Hector Bellerin’s cross to equalise for the Gunners.
Despite Arsenal getting the equaliser, West Ham kept up the pressure with Michael Antonio testing Cech.
The missed chances in the first half came back to bite West Ham as debutant Issa Diop scored an own goal before Danny Welbeck added a third in injury time to hand the Hammers their third straight defeat.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Petr Cech – 6/10
Cech was a little bit slow to get down to Arnautovic’s shot which found the bottom corner. Otherwise, he commanded the box well and made an important second-half save to deny Arnautovic.
Hector Bellerin – 8/10
Bellerin was put into a lot of pressure in the opening stages of the game by the West Ham attackers but he slowly grew into the game. Got into good attacking positions and played a big part in Monreal’s goal and also bagged an assist for Welbeck’s goal.
Shkodran Mustafi – 5/10
Mustafi was partly to blame for West Ham’s goal. Looked sloppy in possession again, however, he improved after the break.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos – 5/10
Sokratis was given a tough time by Arnautovic throughout the first half. The Austrian’s shot went through his legs for the opener. The Greek defender made a crucial block to deny Anderson at 1-1.
Nacho Monreal – 6/10
An energetic performance from the ageing Spaniard, who bombed up and down the left. He was caught out of position a number of times and looked uninspiring while defending. However, he popped up with the important leveller.
Granit Xhaka – 5/10
Xhaka made an important interception to stop West Ham’s early attack in the game. His passing was not up to the standards and was lucky not to be carded for a rash challenge on Snodgrass. Did better in the second half.
Matteo Guendouzi – 4/10
He looked overanxious at times and tried too much to hold the ball. Never really made an impact and was replaced by Torreira.
Aaron Ramsey – 6/10
Energetic presence in the attack as usual. He worked hard off the ball and made some incisive passing after the break.
Alex Iwobi – 5/10
Iwobi’s directness caused the visitors’ defence some problems. After a lively start, he faded away and was hooked off at half-time.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5/10
Never really got into the game in the first half as Arsenal struggled to provide him with service. Aubameyang could have grabbed at least a goal but his shot was blocked by Diop.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5/10
Mkhitaryan tried to spark life into Arsenal’s attack but his passing was awful. He was expected to take the mantle but sadly, he didn’t.
Substitutes
Alexandre Lacazette – 8/10
Came on at half-time and provided energy as well as flair to Arsenal’s attack. The Frenchman was dogged, robust and held the ball well. His determination paved the way for the own goal.
Lucas Torreira – 7/10
Torreira’s entry offered a calming influence in Arsenal’s midfield. His passing needs a bit of improvement but going by his cameos, he should start the next game.
Read more: Enough is enough: Unai Emery must offload this £35m Arsenal weak link in January
Danny Welbeck – 7/10
Provided the Gunners with more attacking verve in the second half. Scored right at the end to hand Emery his first win as Arsenal manager.
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