THE curse of the Arsenal captaincy may not have lifted just yet – but Mikel Arteta’s men still propelled themselves into the top four.
Alex Lacazette, a stand-in skipper after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of his stripes and frozen out of the squad, had a penalty saved by former Gunner Lucasz Fabianski.
Lacazette had worked his conkers off all night, assisting Gabriel Martinelli’s opener and earning the penalty which saw West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal sent off for a second yellow card midway through the second half.
But while Lacazette couldn’t crown his performance with a goal, Mikel Arteta’s men leapt above the Hammers into the Champions League places with a slow-burner of a display – 35 minutes of dross, before a vast improvement which merited this victory.
Emile Smith Rowe added a late second as Arteta’s kids continue to power Arteta’s bid for a return to the European elite.
Aubameyang had been axed as captain on the eve of this match after a series of disciplinary breaches – and while there is no permanent successor yet, Lacazette did his case no harm here.
Arteta’s young side are very much a work in progress – there are moments of quality mixed with panics and brain-freezes.
But they deservedly defeated a West Ham side who have overcome both Chelsea and Liverpool this season.
This may not be a genuine rivalry – both clubs are too busy despising Tottenham to loathe one another – but under Moyes, the Hammers have been making it difficult for grander London clubs to pat them on the head and patronise them.
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Mark Halsey’s view
WEST HAM were extremely unlucky when Vladimir Coufal conceded a penalty for a challenge on Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette.
The Hammers defender won the ball — but referee Anthony Taylor then pointed to the spot.
It was not a penalty.
If anything, Lacazette went into Coufal’s leg — what was the Czech right-back supposed to do?
Taylor is perceived to be one of our best referees, but this poor decision again shows something has to happen with the education and training.
The fact that Taylor delayed blowing the whistle for three seconds highlighted there was doubt in his mind.
To compound the penalty, Coufal was also red-carded for a second caution.
We have had a series of bad decisions recently and here’s another one.
For Moyes, it was a 600th Premier League game as a manager – a feat previously achieved only by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp.
The majority of those came at Everton, where Arteta had been an outstanding servant in midfield.
Arsenal’s manager named an unchanged side, leaving his inspirational Smith Rowe on the bench – and how both teams could have done with a little inspiration early on.
The armband seems to have given Lacazette a lift – the French striker was the liveliest man on the pitch early on, winning a dangerous free-kick from Rice, then executing a back-heeled nutmeg and dropping back to win possession in midfield.
As for the other 21 of them, it was a horribly scruffy opening – as if they’d all signed up for a world-record attempt for sheer volume of misplaced passes.
We had to wait 34 minutes for a decent effort on goal – Pablo Fornals drilling wide across goal.
But as the quality of passing descended from bang-average to God-awful, Arsenal suddenly produced an actual move.
Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard played a neat one-two in the West Ham box and after a Granit Xhaka shot was blocked, Kieran Tierney let rip from 25 yards and Fabianski tipped onto the crossbar.
The Pole is a far better keeper now than when he was written off as ‘Flappyhandski’ in his Arsenal days and his touch was crucial.
Soon, Fabianski pushed out a powerful drive from Lacazette and Martinelli could only stab wide from the rebound.
But the main reflection on the first half was that Manchester United will want shooting if they can’t finish above both of these teams and claim a Champions League place.
Arsenal, fleas in ears, rockets up jacksies, were right at it after the interval.
They seized the lead within three minutes of the restart, Lacazette finding rare space and slipping a well-weighted pass into the path of Martinelli, who side-footed neatly into the far corner.
Just as the Emirates started to buzz, Odegaard’s doxy pass allowed Jarrod Bowen a deflected shot which Aaron Ramsdale met with a gymnastic save.
But Lacazette was now giving Craig Dawson nightmares every time Arsenal attacked and with the West Ham centre-back on a yellow card, the Gunners were sensing a second.
They should have had it midway through the half when Coufal – booked early on – was sent off after conceding a penalty.
The Czech went on to ground, getting something of the ball but flooring Lacazette with his follow-through – a ‘modern foul’ either harsh or fair, depending on your age.
But Fabianski denied Lacazette from the spot, diving low to his left.
Still, the ten men always looked vulnerable and Smith Rowe, on as a sub for Odegaard, latched on to a Saka pass and nutmegged Issa Diop to deceive Fabianski for a late clincher.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
