West Ham’s Premier League season resumed with a concerning second half slump against league-leaders Arsenal that now places the Hammers 16th and two points off bottom on a run of four consecutive league defeats. In some ways, it was positive to hear club captain Declan Rice speak after the game of the squad’s refusal to entertain the notion that West Ham could be embroiled in yet another relegation battle this season – albeit accepting that the undoubted quality available has all too often failed to manifest itself on the pitch. Equally though, it feels like there is an ever-thinning line between defiance and denial.
Should the team, which features international stars in Rice, Lucas Paquetá, Tomáš Souček, Thilo Kehrer, and Gianluca Scamacca, fail to acknowledge the situation they find themselves in, such denial of reality could worsen the ongoing slide into abject failure. Whilst there are clearly tactical concerns underpinning the myriad issues at West Ham right now, individuals must step up and forget the last two seasons in order to earn the right to once more speak of their ability, achievements, and ambition.
Lukasz Fabiański – 5
Culpable for the second of Arsenal’s goals as Martinelli managed to sneak one in at the near-post, Fabiański continues to make crucial errors that undermine both his performances and the team’s results. The Pole dealt with crosses particularly well as Arsenal tried to place him under extreme pressure from set-pieces but he will keep failing to make those details count as long as he makes crucial mistakes.
Vladimír Coufal – 6
For 45 minutes it felt like someone had given us our Coufal back. The Czech right-back was sensational in the 2020-21 season but has since endured an extended period within which his individual form has slid from comparisons with João Cancelo to broad fan desperation for West Ham to sign a replacement. To begin with, his aggressive approach against Gabriel Martinelli helped provide security on his side of the defence and he combined that generally positive individual duel with impressive recovery work to deny Eddie Nketiah a clear sight of goal following a promising Arsenal break. It was also his inch-perfect ball into the space behind Kieran Tierney that led to West Ham’s unlikely opener. It felt like we had him back… until Martin Ødegaard’s scuffed shot made its way through to Bukayo Saka and replays revealed that Coufal had played the goalscorer onside by dropping well behind the rest of the defensive line. West Ham collapsed after his mistake but Coufal still comes away with some credit, being one of the few players who managed to avoid being afflicted by the same sudden lack of application that dogged the rest of the team.
Craig Dawson – 7
If there was one player we perhaps didn’t expect to stand out against the multidimensional threats of Saka, Ødegaard, Martinelli and Nketiah, it was probably Craig Dawson, but the titanic central defender was excellent at The Emirates last night. Although there were several occasions where he attempted to follow Nketiah out and found himself getting beaten on the spin – a clear indication of his broader limitations and why his defensive archetype must be replaced if West Ham are to progress beyond a low-block and counter football team – he was brilliant when recovering and impressively progressive in possession. Most will recall his calm dispossession of Saka when he found himself scrambling to defend against several onrushing attackers after Kehrer’s slip in the first half, but his arcing passes out to the right channel when few others seemed capable of finding forward options should be what we remember most from this match.
Thilo Kehrer – 4
At this point, it’s hard to find kind words to encapsulate the obvious when it comes to Thilo Kehrer. Speaking frankly, the German cannot continue to feature in the starting eleven if West Ham want to win football matches. Despite his reputation and appearances at international level, Kehrer continues to make catastrophic individual errors several times every game. The most galling of his mistakes last night was his insistence on complaining to referee Michael Oliver about an incident moments earlier when he had just given away a free-kick himself; had Souček not given up on convincing him to refocus and dropped into the backline, Arsenal would almost certainly have scored. This mistake ran alongside a ridiculous misplaced free-kick to nowhere that exposed his teammates to the counter, an absurd long-range effort just as his side had managed to regain some semblance of control after Arsenal’s quickfire second half double, and his hapless defending against Nketiah for Arsenal’s third.
Aaron Cresswell – 5
Returning from a minor injury sustained against Udinese in a series of mid-season friendlies as the World Cup reached its conclusion, Cresswell was miles off the level he set before the break. Usually a go-to option in possession for the Hammers, the left-back managed just 81% accuracy without clocking a single progressive pass. It would be harsh to criticise him too heavily for being well beaten by Saka, most left-backs in the country have experienced that at some stage, but this wasn’t the kind of performance we’ve come to expect this season.
Tomáš Souček – 5
40% passing accuracy for a central midfielder is unacceptable. Souček is usually included in the starting lineup for his aerial ability, anticipation of danger and ability to position himself to disincentivise threatening options or intervene in promising attacks but, even in these areas, the Czech midfielder was well off it last night. It was his repeatedly hopeless anticipation and positioning that led to Arsenal’s third and, if he doesn’t guarantee these defensive qualities, he absolutely cannot continue to feature as a starter in this team.
Declan Rice – 5
Rice covered for his partner’s mistakes excellently in the first half but the captain was one of the worst sufferers in West Ham’s second half collapse as his performance completely fell apart after Arsenal’s equaliser. Uncharacteristically careless misplaced passes crept in alongside a brittleness to his defensive play that we have scarcely seen over the last few years. Saka comfortably knocked him off the ball twice in the build-up to Martinelli’s goal and this was a terrifying indication of where the team now find themselves: These players have bundles of quality and the best will in the world but if you can’t win favourable individual duels you’re in serious trouble.
Jarrod Bowen – 6
One of the only persistent attacking threats for West Ham throughout the match, Bowen impressed in moments as he managed to get the better of Kieran Tierney several times when breaking away on the counter. His movement drew the foul from William Saliba that provided the Hammers’ opening goal from the spot and he did well to tighten up on the defensive looseness that pervaded his first half showing. Some signs of promise.
Lucas Paquetá – 6
Able to drop deeper in midfield given more flexibility to rotate with Souček in this game, Paquetá looked far more comfortable last night than he had been when glued to the heels of the striker in the matches that preceded the break. The Brazilian showed his quality at times as he calmly worked his way out of pressure and released others with time on the ball whilst also managing to pick out some excellent forward balls himself. Though he was given little protection by the abysmal 424 high-press-or-stand-high-up-the-pitch-and-watch-the-ball-go-past nonsense that dominated the final exchanges of the game, there was some promise in viewing the possible combinations when Paquetá is operating in this deeper position in combination with Rice, Saïd Benrahma, and Pablo Fornals. This should be instructive.
Saïd Benrahma – 5
Benrahma took his penalty well but provided exceptionally little prior to that before cascading into near-total disaster after Arsenal’s third. Here he gave the ball away repeatedly when in possession and even did so once while attempting a few stepovers in his own penalty area. It was hugely difficult to get the Algerian into the game in the main as a result of the side’s general lack of control but his decision-making, security in possession, and ultimate end product from open play were disappointing again.
Michail Antonio – 6
Antonio had some bright moments in this game as he held the ball up well on a number of occasions in the first half allowing some relief from the pressure Arsenal were exerting on the backline. He regularly combined well with Bowen, not least for the penalty, and we saw some of those classic rolls away from his man appear in the second half as the going got tough. He will be disappointed that some of his positive work didn’t lead to more, and that he didn’t finish the chance he got when played through by Souček early in the second half (though he looked offside), but this was a performance with a little more promise than others.
Pablo Fornals, Divin Mubama – N/A
