DON’T LOOK NOW
Moyes can’t watch as Lacazette’s late strike has wasteful Hammers in danger
APPROPRIATELY in these days of self-isolation, David Moyes looked ready to lock himself away in a darkened room after this one. It really was a slap across the face with a germy hand.
The comfort for West Ham’s manager, if there is any, is that his side were often excellent, a collective that countered as well as it defended. The only issue was also the big issue — getting the ball in the net.
On four occasions at 0- 0, and probably more, they had what can be fairly termed excellent chances, not even counting the shot Jarrod Bowen put against a post inside two minutes. How they failed to get through is anyone’ s guess. A mystery, really.
Some credit to Bernd Leno for that — Arsenal’s keeper was the best player on the field.
And some balance on Michail Antonio, too, for while he was the most wasteful with the opportunities, he was also central to much of what West Ham did well on the ball. But alas, they didn’t even get the draw, beaten down to zero points by a 78th-minute sucker punch from Alexandre Lacazette, whose winner was initially flagged for offside and then awarded by the VAR.
From ‘f*** VAR’ to delirium in a matter of minutes, it was a rather neat snapshot of the split personality that runs through Arsenal’s teams and support.
But these are good days for them. True, they benefited from some fortune here. But they also had 70 per cent possession and gained a result that takes them em to eight league games unbeaten, four of f which are wins.
The top four still feels too far ahead, but Mikel Arteta is making subtle and steady progress.
As he put it: ‘ We are turning the corner in results and a bit it in terms of what I want ant to see in my team. The e ship still has to turn more to see what we want to see. It is a process. But it will bed own to the performances and r el at ed to the results.’
The defence remains the concern. Even in recognition of West Ham playing well here, you have to question how a team in relegation difficulties can have so many clear sights of goal away from home.
A Arteta added: ‘It is o obvious it wasn’t our b best day but we found a way to win and we can learn. The unity and desire the players showed was good.’ M Moyes, who has now gone 16 away games at Arsena Arsenal without victory, was di distinctly i and predictably flat in his assessment. ‘ We didn’t deserve to lose,’ he said. ‘In recent weeks we made mistakes defensively which cost us, or a goalkeeping error, but today I feel the mistake was not taking the chances. That was the disappointment. But I think we played really well and It old them that. We played well against
Liverpool, against Southampton and here. But we only have three points from three games and I’m pleased to say well done.
‘But I am not going to keep saying well done until we start getting points. I would rather play not so well and win because that is what we need.’
It took only 95 seconds for West Ham to set a tone for the match, when Granit Xhaka fluffed a pass straight to Bowen, who hit the near post from the edge of the area.
Ten minutes later Pablo Mari, on his Premier League debut, was bundled off the ball in a battle of shoulders with Antonio which cleared the way for the forward and Se bas ti en Hall er togo two versus one against defender
David Luiz. Haller went too far ahead with his run, the pass from Antonio went too far behind, and a superb opportunity went begging.
A third chance was botched when Haller over-hit his touch in going through before a fourth passed West Ham by when Antonio, only three yards from goal, swivelled to meet an Issa Diop knockdown at a corner and somehow pulled the shot wide. Moyes carried the look of a cursed man.
For Arteta, there was a Sokratis header against t he bar and a scuffed Mesut Ozil finish to show for masses of first-half possession and the enduring worry that his defence might implode again at any time. The balance of the game was more level in the second half, but even then Antonio had a free header saved by Leno before it all turned on a VAR call.
Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang triggered the contentious moment with a cross that looped up off Declan Rice and fell for Ozil, who was ruled by the assistant referee t o be offside at t he point he cushioned a header for Lacazette.
The flag went up just as the striker nailed the volley but a lengthy referral eventually went Arsenal’s way. A fair call and a brutal result.