Arsenal were able to reclaim fourth place after scraping to a 2-1 win over West Ham United, with Rob Holding putting in an impressive performance.
Arsenal were unconventional and lacked their regular fluid football at the London Stadium, and yet came out on top after 90 minutes. The Gunners had to dig up a victory against West Ham United, which took them back to fourth place on the Premier League table.
The game looked equally poised in the opening exchanges, and courtesy of Rob Holding’s brilliant header from a Bukayo Saka corner, Arsenal took the lead around the 38th minute. Their lead barely lasted six minutes, before Jarrod Bowen drilled in the equalising goal right at the stroke of half-time.
The second half began in a similarly cagey fashion as the first, although Arsenal took the lead once more around the 54th minute. It was the other Arsenal centre-back, Gabriel, who found plenty of space to plant his header with power, giving Lukasz Fabianski no chance to stop the effort.
There was a nervy moment for Arsenal when Aaron Ramsdale came charging out of his area and seemed to have clattered Bowen. Instead, the referee pointed the other way and booked the West Ham attacker for simulation. Replays showed Bowen might have dived to escape any contact with the goalkeeper, which could have led to an injury.
? “I’d love that, we need that to win football matches.”
Mikel Arteta response to being asks if Arsenal are more streetwise compared to the start of the season with such a young side. pic.twitter.com/5uSggXnM9G
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 1, 2022
Barring that, the Gunners then restricted West Ham to half chances as they stood tall at the back and kept their lead intact. The win ensured Arsenal will certainly play Europa League football next season, as they mathematically cannot finish below sixth this season.
Arteta will certainly be aiming for Champions League qualification considering his team regained the fourth spot after Tottenham had taken the position on the table earlier, with a win over Leicester. The Gunners will face Leeds United in a must-win game in the context of the top four race, while Spurs travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool next week.
Here’s how the players fared as Arsenal beat West Ham United at the London Stadium after goals from Holding and Gabriel sealed three points.
West Ham United
Lukasz Fabianski: 6/10
The busier of the two goalkeepers, Fabianski could do nothing about the two goals, despite getting a firm hand to Gabriel’s header. However, he was well placed to save a few efforts from Eddie Nketiah, which was not so difficult.
Vladimir Coufal: 5/10
A busy day for the full-back, who always found space ahead of him, with Tavares often venturing forward. He did create the chance for Bowen, but beyond that, Coufal did not threaten the Arsenal backline as he should have. Defensively, he looked composed, although an error late on could have proven costly.
Kurt Zouma: 5/10
Zouma looked tired, considering the number of minutes he has had since returning from injury. He will be key for West Ham on Thursday, although against Arsenal, he found it tough to contain Nketiah’s movements and the striker got the better of him a few more times than the Frenchman would have liked.
Aaron Cresswell: 5.5/10
Cresswell did a good job at the heart of the West Ham defence. But the Hammers missed his attacking runs from wide. Cresswell put up with the threat posed by Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, but he could not contribute more to his team’s cause.
Ryan Fredericks: 4/10
Fredericks was defensively sound and contained the threat posed by Saka in particular. However, David Moyes wanted more from the full-back from an attacking perspective.
Declan Rice in the first half vs. Arsenal:
90% pass accuracy
37 touches
5x possession won
4 duels contested
3 touches in opp. box
3 duels won
2 shots
2 shots on target
1 tackle
1 interceptionRice, Rice, baby. ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/jrwK5nej0n
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 1, 2022
Declan Rice: 7/10
Moyes took a gamble to put Rice in midfield, despite the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday. The star midfielder proved efficient in the middle of the park, often controlling the area and switching play to either flank.
Mark Noble: 5.5/10
A reliable performance from the veteran, who was robust in midfield and often did very well while passing the ball. Other than that, Noble could not provide anything that could have changed the game’s complexion for West Ham.
Jarrod Bowen: 7/10
Bowen troubled Arsenal’s defenders and got the equalising goal to bring some spice into the tie. He was involved in a controversial moment, receiving a booking for simulation, although he may have dived to protect himself from a potentially serious injury as Ramsdale came diving.
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
Manuel Lanzini: 4/10
A poor decision from Moyes to play Lanzini, who had a terrible game. The Argentine playmaker could not influence the game and was a mere passenger in the final third. His passing was abysmal, and eventually, he got substituted by the manager.
Pablo Fornals: 4.5/10
Arsenal’s defenders remained aware of the danger Fornals posed and kept him in check. The attacker had some decent ideas but could not execute them, despite being afforded ample space to operate at times.
Said Benrahma: 4/10
It was not a great outing for the attacker, as he struggled for relevance in the final third. Such performances will prompt Moyes to think about excluding Benrahma from Thursday.
SUBSTITUTES
Michail Antonio: 3/10
Moyes wanted a response from his team and could only look at Antonio to get that elusive equaliser. The striker came on but could never get into the game. The Arsenal defenders dealt with him and did not allow him to influence the proceedings.
Tomas Soucek: 5/10
As was the case with Antonio, Soucek could not influence the game.
Andriy Yarmolenko: N/A
No impact from a player who had scored two goals in three substitute appearances previously. Yarmolenko managed to get the only offside decision of the game.
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale: 6.5/10
The slight deflection from Bowen’s shot gave Ramsdale no chance of saving it. But before that, the Arsenal goalkeeper made a brilliant save from Rice’s header. He was lucky not to have any contact during the challenge on Bowen outside the area, as a slight touch would have resulted in a red card and a potentially serious injury for the attacker.
Takehiro Tomiyasu: 6/10
Tomiyasu looked a bit rusty in the early exchanges, although he composed himself well as the game went on. He was a handy player at the back, dealing with the threat of Said Benrahma on his side. Taken off, as the defender could not continue and looked fatigued.
Rob Holding's game by numbers vs. West Ham:
100% duels won
78 touches
8 duels won
7 clearances
6/6 aerial duels won
5x possession won
3 blocked shots
2 tackles
1 shot
1 goalClass in both boxes. ? pic.twitter.com/o66quZseti
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 1, 2022
Rob Holding: 8/10
Holding scored his first-ever Premier League goal and put in a masterclass at the back as Arsenal dug deep and secured all three points. He rose the highest to meet Saka’s corner to open the scoring. Defensively, he was a rock at the back, winning all his duels and making at least seven clearances in the match.
Gabriel Magalhaes: 8/10
While Holding took the plaudits, Gabriel produced an equally important performance and even got the winning goal. With that strike, the Brazilian defender became the joint top-scoring centre-back in the Premier League this season.
No centre-back has scored more Premier League goals this season than Gabriel (4).
Three of the four have come away from the Emirates. ⚽ pic.twitter.com/nUkm8owq3m
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 1, 2022
Nuno Tavares: 5/10
Tavares was an asset when Arsenal went forward, but defensively he was a liability, losing possession far more than Arteta would have liked. The opposition constantly looked at ways to put the left-back under pressure, and sometimes, he caved.
Mohamed Elneny: 8/10
Elneny put in another composed performance. Despite not being very good at moving the ball forward, he was a reliable outlet when Arsenal were under pressure and wanted to retain possession. He also created one brilliant chance for Eddie Nketiah, which the striker squandered.
Granit Xhaka: 5/10
Xhaka was tidy on the ball for most parts, but there were many instances when he gave away possession cheaply, which luckily did not result in anything dangerous for Arsenal. The Swiss midfielder was having an unusual day, which allowed the likes of Rice and Noble to wield control of the midfield area.
Bukayo Saka: 6.5/10
Saka was not at his best level. It could have been the slight injury suffered in the last game. He did put in a shift and supported the defence very well. He created the opening goal for Holding, which took his combined goals and assists tally to 17 for this Premier League season.
Martin Odegaard: 6/10
Odegaard showed clever movements in the final third and kept things tidy at the back when he came back to help. While Odegaard could not influence the game in the way he would have wanted, he looked dangerous on the ball, which kept the West Ham defenders on their toes.
Gabriel Martinelli: 5/10
After an awful first half, where Martinelli could barely get into the game, he somewhat grew into the proceedings and provided a telling contribution to justify his selection. The Brazilian found his compatriot Gabriel free inside the box and put in a perfect ball for the defender to strike his header with venom and beyond Fabianski.
Eddie Nketiah: 8/10
Eddie Nketiah's game by numbers vs. West Ham:
100% take-on success
49 touches
9 duels contested
8x possession won
7 duels won
6 shots
6 touches in opp. box
4 shots on target
3 take-ons
2 fouls wonPut in a shift. ?♂️ pic.twitter.com/RL3kuskLG4
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 1, 2022
Nketiah put in a terrific performance, troubling the opposition defenders, particularly Zouma, with his intelligent movements. The striker took more shots than any other player on the pitch and got at least four on target. He made Fabianski work hard and was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet.
SUBSTITUTES
Cedric Soares: 6/10
Cedric replaced the jaded Tomiyasu and immediately slotted in with his fellow defenders as Arsenal saw the game out.
Emile Smith Rowe: N/A
A late introduction and he barely had any time to impact.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: N/A
Did not play enough to get a rating.
