Arsenal 0-2 West Ham: EPL Man of the Match and Player Ratings

The Hammers shocked Arsenal with a surprise win to keep them at the second spot on the Premier League table.

West Ham defeated Arsenal 2-0 in their Premier League game on Thursday. The Gunners’ control over the game wasn’t enough to save them from a home defeat against their clinical opponents.

What happened?

Alphonse Areola made a brilliant save to prevent Bukayo Saka from scoring an early goal before the visitors took the lead through Tomas Soucek in the 13th minute. Arsenal immediately started their efforts to score an equalizer but the goal post and another fantastic save from Areola ensured the visitors’ victory in the first half.

The Hammers shocked their opponents with another early goal when the second half started. Konstantinos Mavropanos smashed James Ward-Prowse’s corner into the far corner of the net with a fantastic header to double West Ham’s lead.

Arsenal pushed hard to get back into the game after Mikel Arteta made two changes after conceding the second goal. Despite making a number of goalscoring opportunities, however, the Gunners lacked enough attacking edge to turn things around at Emirates. West Ham had a chance to extend their lead in the 96th minute but Said Benrahma missed his penalty as West Ham settled for a 2-0 victory.

Arsenal vs West Ham: Man of the Match

Areola deserves the Man of the Match title for his incredible display as West Ham defeated Arsenal at Emirates. The goalkeeper was crucial to Hammers’ victory, making a total of eight saves to keep an impressive clean sheet.

Alphonse Areola’s game by numbers vs. Arsenal:

49 touches
11 long balls completed
8 saves
6 saves from shots inside the box
1.08 goals prevented

Big contribution. 🧤 pic.twitter.com/6udhfCeg1M
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) December 28, 2023

Player Ratings

Arsenal: Raya (7); White (7), Saliba (7), Gabriel (7), Zinchenko (6); Rice (7), Odegaard (8), Trossard (6); Saka (7), Jesus (7), Martinelli (7).

Bench: Nelson (5), Nketiah (6), Smith Rowe (6).

West Ham: Areola (9); Coufal (7), Mavropanos (7), Ogbonna (8), Emerson (8); Alvarez (7), Soucek (7); Kudus (5), Ward-Prowse (8), Paqueta (5); Bowen (6).

Bench: Benrahma (5).