West Ham 1 – 0 Arsenal: Match report + Fan reactions from Twitter
West Ham United beat Arsenal 1-0 in a London Derby which was competitive throughout the ninety minutes but lacked final ball quality. The record crowd at the London stadium witnessed a game between two teams who generally struggle defensively, but both teams never really tested that, especially the away side.
The Gunners had more possession in the game which was expected but they never called Lukasz Fabianski into serious action. While, on the other hand, the Hammers tried to fashion openings with Samir Nasri and Felipe Anderson hugely involved in troubling a crippled Arsenal back-line.
Up until the half-time, this contest was on even terms with Unai Emery’s men passing the ball well in final third without final ball execution. Manuel Pellegrini’s men did have a good chance when Nasri laid out a clever pass to Anderson. The latter then put the laces through the ball only to miss the target by inches.
The second half started with a bit more intensity from the home side and they got the goal. A second phase from a corner and Anderson with another poor ball into the box. However, the clearing header from Granit Xhaka was equally poor, presenting it straight to Nasri, who just laid it off to Declan Rice to finish a curling effort into the top corner in 48th minute.
It was the youngster’s first Premier League and he will remember that for a long time. Arsenal never looked like equalising but bettered their overall play with the introduction of Aaron Ramsey in that number 10 position. But their final ball decision-making was a lot to be desired.
As a result of this, the Gunners remain three points behind Chelsea in fifth place, but the Blues have a game in hand. West Ham are into the top-eight now.
Here’s how the Arsenal fans reacted on Twitter after back-to-back away defeats in the league:
How did Guendouzi stay on the pitch for 93 minutes? He offered nothing
— Welch (@SamWeIch) January 12, 2019
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH #kronkeout pic.twitter.com/E8F7E96gRF
— Davidsid (@davidsid10) January 12, 2019
We dropped Ozil to be stronger defensively but have lost the game.
— ♚ Kris ☆♚ (@Santi_Classorla) January 12, 2019
Top 4 race over. Agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter. Time will tell… As a matter of fact, most likely finishing 6th….
— A4Arsenal (@a4arsenal_) January 12, 2019
One thing to learn from this boring defeat, emery doesn’t like arsenals only creative gifted no 10 @MesutOzil1088
— Impeccable (@Impeccable2k18) January 12, 2019
Ramsey leaving. Ozil pushed out. Yet guendouzi starts every week. Emery erasing a lot of the goodwill that the unbeaten run bought.
— Pranov Suresh (@PranovSuresh) January 12, 2019
