The cup run ends in a bitter defeat for Arsenal with a terrible team performance encapsulated with costly individual errors and a lacklustre performance in general.
The Lineup:
Declan Rice’s importance to Arsenal was evident in their Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham. Mikel Arteta made several changes to his team and was left frustrated by their lack of focus and intensity against a highly motivated opponent. Jorginho, Reiss Nelson, Jakub Kiwior, Fábio Vieira, Leandro Trossard, and Kai Havertz must have been disappointed to hear Arteta criticize their performance, especially as Arsenal allowed West Ham to dominate the game in Rice’s absence.
Arsenal’s midfield lacked structure with Jorginho playing as the anchor instead of Declan Rice. The Gunners were too timid and had few complaints, even though Mikel Arteta felt that West Ham’s opener should not have stood. David Moyes, who claimed his first win over Arsenal as West Ham’s manager, could reflect on a job well done.
Edson Álvarez, one of the players brought in to replace Rice, dominated the midfield. Jarrod Bowen starred up front and Mohammed Kudus scored another magnificent goal. Konstantinos Mavropanos impressed against his former side, showing strength and authority alongside Nayef Aguerd in central defence.
Changes are inevitable for Arsenal. Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Ødegaard, and Bukayo Saka will return, and Oleksandr Zinchenko can expect to make way for Takehiro Tomiyasu after struggling at left-back, particularly when he lost Kudus for West Ham’s second goal early in the second half.
Arsenal’s defence was a mess. Zinchenko may be good on the ball, but opposing wingers know that he can be exposed, and Arsenal suffered before Arteta withdrew the Ukrainian in the 57th minute. They had created little, with Kai Havertz disappointing again, and one of the stories was a jittery display from Aaron Ramsdale. The Arsenal goalkeeper would not cover himself in glory when West Ham went ahead through Ben White’s own goal.
Conclusion:
Overall it was disappointing across the board. With key players needed to be subbed on to rescue a goal and some hurt feelings. Arsenal do need to bounce back and do so strong against a tough Newcastle side come Saturday.
It all went wrong this Wednesday night, perhaps a game not to learn from but to delete from our minds and mentally prepare from the jump for Newcastle.
Written by Reekesh Somaroo