📰 Table Of Contents
Result
Sunday’s final Premier League clash played out a short time ago. Said game would see West Ham and Arsenal face off at the London Stadium.
Both sides headed into the game in patchy form, with Arsenal having lost three of their last five and West Ham having picked up just one win from five.
However, both outfits needed a victory to keep their European hopes alive. Arsenal are currently competing with Tottenham for 4th spot, whilst West Ham were aware that a win on Sunday would have guided them into the Europa League places.
When all was said and done in east London, though, it was the visitors who came away with a 2-1 win.
Neither side was at the races for much of the first 45, but Arsenal took the lead when Rob Holding headed in a Bukayo Saka cross.
Arsenal lead through Rob Holding’s first ever Premier League goal!! 💥
As it stands they will go back above Spurs! ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/I6wQsnDvYt
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 1, 2022
Arsenal’s lead lasted only six minutes! 😲 pic.twitter.com/Us1PADHbF7
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 1, 2022
Gabriel then put the north Londoners back in front with what proved to be the winner 54 minutes in, heading in a Gabriel Martinelli cross.
West Ham player ratings
Lukasz Fabianski (6) – Made a number of good saves but still conceded twice.
Vladimir Coufal (6) – Good assist for the West Ham equaliser. Kept Martinelli quiet for the most part.
Kurt Zouma (4.5) – Failed to close down Nketiah before his shot that led to an Arsenal corner, which Holding scored from.
Aaron Cresswell (5) – Played out of position, but didn’t look that out of place.
Ryan Fredericks (3.5) – Struggled to deal with Saka.
Declan Rice (7.5) – Progressed the ball forward well throughout the game and came close to scoring from a corner but was denied by a good Ramsdale save. Played an excellent ball to Coufal who then set up Bowen’s strike.
Mark Noble (6) – Passing was solid and won a number of key duels.
Manuel Lanzini (2) – Struggled to create much and was outmuscled by Holding for the opener. Also failed to track Gabriel for his goal.
Pablo Fornals (5) – Wasted one of the only decent chances from the first half. Did little else of note.
Said Benrahma (5) – Decent chance half an hour in which was blocked. Struggled to have much of an impact otherwise before he was taken off.
Jarrod Bowen (6) – Gave the ball way 37 minutes in, which led to an Arsenal corner that the away side opened the scoring from. Made up for it a few minutes later by scoring an equaliser, however.
Substitutes
Michail Antonio (3) – Failed to help West Ham find a 2nd equaliser.
Tomas Soucek (3) – Largely ineffective display.
Andriy Yarmolenko (N/A)
Arsenal player ratings
Aaron Ramsdale (5) – Made a good save late in the first half to deny Rice. His distribution on the day was not great.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (6) – Solid if uninspiring display from Tomiyasu before he was forced off due to injury.
Rob Holding (7.5) – Made a couple of good blocks and interceptions to deny West Ham and, of course, opened the scoring on the day.
Gabriel (7) – Questionable defensive header nearly led to a Fornals goal. Poor marking of Bowen for his equaliser but then put Arsenal back in front from a corner 54 minutes in.
Nuno Tavares (4) – With Tomiyasu back in the side, Tavares was tasked with moving further up the field when Arsenal were in possession to provide an attacking outlet from the left. However, he struggled to do so.
The Portuguese was also not fantastic defensively. Should have been tighter to Coufal when he set up Bowen and continued to make decisions that put his teammates in precarious positions.
Mohamed Elneny (5.5) – Struggled with the offensive side of the game, often resorting to long balls that ended with Arsenal losing possession in the first half. Good ball to Nketiah 71 minutes in but the striker wasted the chance.
Granit Xhaka (6) – Made a number of key passes but did little defensive work.
Bukayo Saka (7.5) – One of the few Arsenal attackers who created anything in the first half, with his marauding runs proving too much for Fredericks. Also assisted Holding and won the corner which led to Gabriel’s goal.
Martin Odegaard (5) – Was not at his best on Sunday, struggling to create much and giving the ball away several times.
Gabriel Martinelli (6) – Very ineffective first half, but then set up Gabriel for Arsenal’s second 54 minutes in.
Eddie Nketiah (5.5) – Hardly touched the ball in the first 45 apart from one chance late in the half which he put little power behind. However, that shot was put out for a corner, which Arsenal scored from. Had a good chance to make it 3-1 late on but put his shot wide.
Substitutes
Cedric (4) – Did a decent job of filling in for the injured Tomiyasu.
Emile Smith Rowe (N/A)
Albert Sambi Lokonga (N/A)
What the experts said
Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in 17 Premier League goals this season, more than any Arsenal:
👕 34 appearances
⚽️ 11 goals scored
🅰️ 6 assistsPinpoint delivery for the opening goal. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/g2YVlElenk
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) May 1, 2022
100 – Jarrod Bowen has now been directly involved in exactly 100 goals in 208 appearances in England’s top four tiers (71 goals, 29 assists), with 64 involvements coming for Hull City and 36 for West Ham. Century. pic.twitter.com/IVlBweNAaa
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 1, 2022
There has been some genuinely horrific football out there today from both sides. School boy stuff.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) May 1, 2022
What the fans said
HT: West Ham 1-1 Arsenal
Really poor from Arsenal at all ends of the pitch. We were lucky to go ahead with Bobby Holding getting his first ever Premier League goal.
Tavares & Nketiah really need to improve. They’ve been massively off it so far.
Thoughts at the break?🤔 #afc pic.twitter.com/XFLAKnIBsk
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) May 1, 2022
How many times are we going to concede few mins after scoring lately. Fuck sake
— Osman 🎗 (@OsmanZtheGooner) May 1, 2022
This team lacks situational awareness. Up a goal with halftime beckoning and we give it back to them multiple times in our own defensive third.
— YankeeGunner (@YankeeGunner) May 1, 2022
What you may have missed
Some throw that by whoever it was in the away end. pic.twitter.com/OfffWn3iZm
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) May 1, 2022
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