West Ham 2-2 Arsenal: Gunners drop crucial points in the title race

West Ham 2-2 Arsenal: Gunners drop crucial points in the title race after Jarrod Bowen equalises for relegation-threatened Hammers just minutes after Bukayo Saka put penalty wide for the visitors

  • West Ham drew 2-2 with Arsenal in a dramatic clash at the London Stadium
  • The Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard 
  • Said Benrahma scored, before Jarrod Bowen equalised in a big blow for Arsenal 

So here it was, after all this time. The first real sign of frailty by Arsenal.

Last week at Liverpool, where Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders gave up a two goal lead to draw, did not feel like this. That was Anfield. Anything can happen there.

But this was not Anfield. This was West Ham’s London Stadium and an opponent low on esteem and confidence playing in front of a meek and mild support that no longer believes in their team.

Yet the same thing happened. Two up and cruising became 2-2 and almost losing. West Ham hit the bar late on. There were bad goals conceded and a penalty missed, too. They are the things that can happen in the glare of the lights.

Now the title is Manchester City’s to lose. It may not look like that when the table is viewed next Friday night. If Arsenal beat Southampton at home that day their lead at the top will be seven points. But they will have played two games more and travel to Manchester five days after that to play their rivals on their own turf. City manager Pep Guardiola has already described that game as a cup final and it really is starting to feel that way.

West Ham secured a dramatic 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday

Jarrod Bowen equalised for the Hammers as they fought back superbly having gone 2-0 down 

Bowen’s goal also came just two minutes after Bukayo Saka missed a penalty for the Gunners

It leaves them just four points clear of Manchester City – who have a game in hand on Arsenal

Arsenal will have to be better than this on that occasion. Really, they will. It is not just football that is tested at this time of year but also a state of mind and it is this that Arsenal are starting to discover.

This is not a collapse. Not yet. But this was a bad day simply because West Ham were a team waiting to beaten and should have been.

Arsenal were so dominant in the early stages that it was almost too easy for them. As Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard scored goals in the seventh and tenth minutes, the atmosphere among the home support was almost funereal. Moyes on the touchline looked lost. One more for Arsenal at that stage and it was not hard to imagine West Ham fans walking out.

But football is an emotional game and as such games can turn in an instant. This one started to when Arsenal’s Thomas Partey coughed up the ball in the 31st minute and Said Benrahma converted the penalty subsequently conceded. It was a lifeline for West Ham but should have been no more than that. Had Bukayo Saka not planted a penalty of his own wide soon after half-time, that West Ham goal would have been only a footnote. But Saka’s aberration was followed by a fine goal by Jarrod Bowen and that was an equaliser from which Arsenal never really recovered.

And all this is a time when Arsenal’s lack of European football should start to work in their favour. They had not played since last Sunday’s exacting draw at Liverpool while West Ham had been to Belgium and back in the Europa Conference League. Arsenal certainly looked fresher early and as well as appearing to be hungrier and, frankly, better. They were to goals up within ten minutes and it already felt that the game may be over.

MATCH FACTS 

WEST HAM UNITED: (4-2-3-1) Fabianski 6; Coufal 6.5, Zouma 7, Kehrer 6.5, Cresswell 6; Soucek 6.5, Rice 7; Bowen 7.5, Paqueta 6.5 (Downes 86mins 6), Benrahma 6.5 (Fornals 90mins 6); Antonio 6 (Cornet 86mins 6) .

GOALS: Benrahma pen 32, Bowen 54

BOOKED: None

DAVID MOYES: 6.5

ARSENAL: (4-3-3-) Ramsdale 6; White 6, Holding 6, Gabriel 6, Tierney 6.5 (Vieira 84mins 6); Odegaard 7 (Nketiah 89mins 6), Partey 5.5 (Trossard 66mins 6), Xhaka 6; Saka 5, Jesus 6.5 (Jorginho 66mins 6), Martinelli 6.5 (Nelson 84mins 6)

GOALS: Jesus 7, Odegaard 10

BOOKED: Partey, Jesus

MIKEL ARTETA: 6

REFEREE: David Coote

The opening goal arrived in the seventh minute and was lovely. West Ham had started the game so slowly it was hard to comprehend. It was supposed to be a big game for them, too, but Moyes’ team were as listless as Arsenal were energetic. So when a raking pass left to right from Partey allowed Arsenal to build an attack, they were pretty much allowed to walk the ball in to the net.

Saka, Odegaard and Ben White were all involved as Arsenal looked to work an opening and eventually they did with the latter of the three being released to the byline. White was presented with a number of West Ham bodies as he looked to find a team-mate but as he crossed low to Jesus at the far post, his cross found Vladimir Coufal scared of turning the ball in to his own goal. So when the Czech appeared to let it run across his body, Jesus waited at the far post to turn it in from just a yard.

After the drama of Anfield a week earlier and indeed City’s win over Leicester on Saturday, this was exactly the start Arsenal needed. There was an early purpose about their football and three minutes later they were two goals ahead.

This time the danger came from the other side via Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian’s first cross from the left was headed back to him and he was simply able to try again. This time the in swinging delivery crafted by Martinelli’s right foot found Odegaard in far too much space at the far post and the Arsenal captain side-footed the ball in on the volley with stunning simplicity.

Arsenal had raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard

Odegaard made it 2-0 within 10 minutes as he finished off a fine team move from the Gunners

Odegaard was Arsenal’s best player here for a while. His calmness in possession was infectious and his use of the ball was largely faultless. With West Ham so docile and reactive, it was easy for Arsenal for the first half an hour. They didn’t create another clear opportunity but they were in complete control as West Ham failed to impose themselves on the game at all.

Maybe it was too easy at this stage. It certainly looked it. The home supporters were already showing their disgust, with one aimless through ball being greeted by boos as we approached the half hour mark. With Arsenal so comfortable, it felt a little like another goal for the league leaders may be all it took to tempt some of the home supporters to leave.

But when Arsenal attempted to bring the ball out of defence in the 31st minute, they invited West Ham back in to the game completely without warning.

Partey’s attempt to flick the ball past Declan Rice cause Arteta’s team the initial problem and then central defender Gabriel compounded things by bringing Lucas Paqueta down after he was released in to the penalty area. Arsenal protested, hoping referee David Coote would perhaps consider that Paqueta had dived or that Rice handled when making the initial interception. Those claims fell on deaf ears and once Benrahma slid in the penalty West Ham improved markedly.

For the rest of the first half West Ham were on top and that was remarkable given the way the game had gone for half an hour. Suddenly Moyes’ players were willing to run harder and faster and seemed ready to play on the front foot. It made all the difference and a couple of half chances came and went before half-time with Michail Antonio heading a cross down and up for Aaron Ramsdale to touch over and Paqueta firing a volley over the angle from 18 yards.

West Ham were handed a lifeline when Gabriel fouled Lucas Paqueta in the penalty area

Said Benrahma made no mistake from the spot, before Bowen completed the turnaround

Strange as it sounds, the half-time break came at a good time for Arsenal as they had lost the initiative and control of the game. When they were handed the opportunity to take it back again five minutes in to the second period they couldn’t take it.

Martinelli’s hooked shot from 18 yards struck Antonio on the arm and a penalty awarded. It was the correct decision. Saka’s penalty was poor, though, missing the target to the right of Lukasz Fabianski’s post by about half a yard. Whether Jesus’s attempts to take the ball off him ahead of the kick put Saka off his game, only he will know. But it couldn’t have helped.

So West Ham were still in the game and four minutes later they were level. Arsenal, it must be said, were suddenly lacking the composure they had in buckets earlier in the game.

A headed clearance by Gabriel from a West Ham throw-in from the right seemed to clear danger for Arsenal and when West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer lifted the ball in rather aimlessly, it should have come straight back out again. But the Arsenal defensive line left Bowen onside by a smidgen and his technique to side foot a dropping ball down in to the ground and up past Ramsdale was superb. Ramsdale did get his left hand to the ball but could only push it against the post and in.

It was a huge result for relegation-threatened West Ham who go four points clear of the drop

It remains to be seen the impact the draw has on Arsenal, but it is a huge boost for Man City

West Ham had done well to rouse themselves but much of this was on Arsenal. They had let control of this game slip rather than had it wrested from as it had been at Liverpool last weekend. Now they had half an hour left to show they possess the mettle of champions.

Arteta responded by making substitutions. Leandro Trossard replaced Jesus and Jorginho came on for Partey. The league leaders enjoyed some possession and territory but the ability to carve out chances had deserted them. There were a couple of forays to the byline and some dangerous crosses but not, in truth, that much for Fabianski to do.

West Ham, meanwhile, continued to sniff unexpected opportunity on the counter and came close to stealing the game with nine minutes left.

Benrahma saw one cross come back to him from a defender and looked up to see Antonio in space at the far post. The delivery was perfect but the header wasn’t quite and the ball flicked the angle of post and bar on the way over.


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