28th December, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Arsenal’s push to overtake Liverpool at the top crumbled on Thursday as they were stunned 0-2 by West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.
The visitors took the lead in the 13th minute. Jarrod Bowen provided Tomas Soucek with a nice pass inside the box. It allowed him to finish with a strike into the middle of the goal.
Bukayo Saka had earlier produced a ferocious strike from the edge of the box. His dangerous effort towards the middle of the goal was blocked by Alphonse Areola, who pulled off a superb save to keep the ball out of the net.
Past mid-first half, Saka rose above the opponent’s defence and headed a precise cross towards the roof of the net. His effort, however, was blocked by Alphonse Areola, who pulled off a stunning save.
Towards the end of the first half, Gabriel Jesus played a lovely pass into Gabriel Martinelli, but he could not find the target. His strike from inside the box went narrowly wide off the right post.
In the 42nd minute, Saka stormed into the box to get on the end of a pass but smashed his shot straight onto the right post.
West Ham made it 0-2 shortly after the restart. James Ward-Prowse took the set piece, sent a cross in and Konstantinos Mavropanos leapt high to connect with it on the penalty spot. His towering header deflected into the top right corner of the post.
In the 74th minute, Leandro Trossard darted into the penalty area to latch on to a pass, and he unleashed a low shot in the direction of the right post. Alphonse Areola was alert and denied him with a nice save.
West Ham would have made it 0-3, but they missed a penalty awarded to them after a player was brought down in the box.
Said Benrahma failed to beat the goalkeeper from the penalty spot with a shot inside the right post. David Raya anticipated his intention perfectly and leapt to stop his effort.