West Ham 2-5 Arsenal
by Paul Donovan
at the London Stadium

WEST HAM supporters were left with a feeling of one step forward, two steps back after this defeat against Arsenal at the London Stadium.

The step forward was victory at Newcastle on Monday, then this drubbing, five days later.

Early on, slack defending from West Ham, saw Gabriel Magalhaes come round the back to head home a Bukayo Saka corner.

It looked as though West Ham were back in the game, when Crysencio Summerville got free to chip home but his effort was ruled out for offside. 

Arsenal then went further ahead with a beautifully worked goal, Saka exchanging passes with Martin Odegaard, Saka then squared for Leandro Trossard to side foot home.

Referee Anthony Taylor then gave a penalty for a foul on Saka by Lucas Paqueta. Odegaard duly converted.

It was looking like a rout when Max Kilman missed the through pass leaving Kai Havertz the easy task of beating Lukasz Fabianski.

West Ham then seemed to wake up. Carlos Soler split the away defence to put in the impressive Aaron Wan-Bissaka who scored his second goal in the week. 

Emerson then thundered home a free kick from 25 yards, after Declan Rice fouled Paqueta.

However, the rally was cut short, after a period of Arsenal gamesmanship. Taylor stepped in again to award a penalty when under-pressure keeper Fabianski was adjudged to have punched incoming Gabriel in his attempt to get the ball. Saka netted the penalty with ease.

The second half was an anti-climax, with a couple of forlorn efforts from Michail Antonio and Danny Ings, the only efforts of note. 

No more goals, a lot of play acting and time wasting from Arsenal which the referee did nothing to penalise. 

Meanwhile, West Ham made some bizarre substitutions replacing attacking players with defensive ones, whilst seemingly forgetting they were three goals down.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui felt his team did well and showed character in the second half.  

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was pleased with the way his team played: “We built some momentum and brought the flow back. It is a great moment now but you have to be on your toes in football.”

Last Monday now feels like a distant memory for West Ham fans. Next up, Leicester on Tuesday.