Player ratings, fan reaction & more: Arsenal regain 4th place as West Ham’s domestic slump continues

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 4^th 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.

The Gunners' lead did not last long, though, with some lacklustre defending allowing Jarrod Bowen to slot home an equaliser shortly before the break.

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)

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