West Ham vs Arsenal a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
April 9, 2016
1,595 Views
- They say lunchtime kick offs are anti climactic and never live up to the hype, this game more than exceeded it.
- Arguably the game of the season as West Ham and Arsenal played out a 6 goal thriller and in fairness it could and should have been even more
- West Ham looked the more dangerous side and could have been in front with 60 seconds but Manuel Lanzini’s header fell the wrong side of the post
- They thought they had gone in front thanks to Andy Carroll but much to the dismay of the West Ham players the linesman Darren Cann incorrectly gave an offside decision
- If you were a West Ham fan you would be under the impression that there is a conspiracy theory in place for you not to get in the Top 4. Another questionable decision going against them
- Carroll was very much in the spotlight early on and was lucky not to have been sent off by Craig Paulson for a reckless tackle. It wouldn’t be the last of the run ins that these two would have had this Lunchtime
- Slaven Bilic opted for a 3-5-2 formation to try and combat Arsenal and after West Ham’s initial spell on top it was all Arsenal as The Gunners exploited the weaknesses along the right hand side where Michail Antonio was operating in a Wing Back role
- He was fine going forward but he was caught in a Midfielders mindset and not a Defenders as a well worked move found Mesut Ozil with enough time and space to put Arsenal in front against the run of the play
- Their Afternoon got even better after 35 minutes when Alexis Sanchez exploited the same weakness and doubled Arsenal’s advantage, it looked like job done for Arsenal and another vital win in terms of giving them an outside chance of winning the Premier League the title
- Then enter Andy Carroll
- First a powerful header from an inch perfect Aaron Cresswell header gave West Ham some hope going into the break
- But then just a minute later there was more than hope as Carroll was given two opportunities to fire home a shot and he fizzed a volley past David Ospina to bring West Ham back into the game
- An incredible first 45 minutes
- The 3-5-2 gamble didn’t really pay off for West Ham so Slaven Bilic decided to operate with a 4-4-2 in the Second Half and just 7 minutes after the break it paid dividends
- And who else but Andy Carroll was on hand to head home another chance to score a 8 minute hat trick, what a turn around for The Hammers and despair for The Gunners
- Soon after they thought it was 4-2 as Dimitri Payet slotting into an empty net after David Ospina fumbled but West Ham’s nemesis for the day Craig Paulson called the play back for an earlier foul by Carroll on Laurent Koscielny
- Arsene Wenger knew that Arsenal had to win to keep their title dreams alive and threw caution to the wind with his substitutions, the shape that they had started with was now looking a much more attacking one with Oliver Giroud and Aaron Ramsey coming on in place of Arsenal’s two holding midfielders
- Just moments after Giroud came on Koscielny got the equaliser after stabbing home from a couple yards. Maybe Giroud could learn from his compatriot in regards to some poachers instincts.
- Andy Carroll was a nuisance all game and he thought he was clear on goal but again Paulson called the play back for a foul this time on Gabriel. Although how Gabriel escaped a Yellow for kicking him off the ball is beyond me
- Gabriel had a bad game, Paulson had an awful one
- Aaron Cresswell sent a low drive towards goal and made David Ospina work to stop the ball going in as both teams looked for a winner
- Unfortunately for either side the winner didn’t materialise
- It turned out honours even at Upton Park in the last ever encounter between these two sides with the draw doing neither side any favours
- What it means though is that it’s all but over in terms of the title race for Arsenal and it doesn’t help West Ham in the race for 4th place either.
- Although after today you would think that UEFA don’t want West Ham in the Champions League
- Is Andy Carroll making a late bid for the England Squad?
- If he can stay fit and play like that for the renaming 5 games then stranger things have happened
- As for Arsenal is this where the inquest begins as the fail to take advantage of probably the biggest opportunity since 2004 to win the title. It’s going to be a bumpy couple of days for Arsene Wenger
- We’re now looking at a 2 horse race at the very most in terms of the title and that is being generous
- A cracking game at Upton Park the kind of one where you wish they would let them keep playing until next goal wins.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
