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Last weekend Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah came to blows in a skirmish during the warm-up in Fulham. Seven days later they were fitting in with devastating effect to give Arsenal a victory they did not deserve.
Nketiah had been introduced from the bench to ignite a performance that rarely lit up, West Ham appeared to be the most likely winner after matching Alexandre Lacazette’s goal through Michail Antonio.
With five minutes remaining, the change had the desired effect, Ceballos found space inside the area and left the ball to his right for Nketiah to touch.
For Arsenal it was an escape; for David Moyes it was a punch on a night when his players ignored the heartbroken atmosphere surrounding his early season form.
The world has changed considerably since West Ham narrowly lost here on 7 March in the teams’ last game before the lockdown. Lacazette’s opener was a reminder that some things, at least, remain familiar. Six months ago he scored a possible winner that was awarded to him after a lengthy VAR control nullified the assistant referee’s flag; now he was back on the right side of technology.
It was skillfully worked, Bukayo Saka weighing a deep pass down the left inside to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The captain, newly hired until 2023, was on point with his splintered delivery and Lacazette ran to hit a header Lukasz Fabianski had no hope of repelling. The check at Stockley Park was triggered by suspicions that Aubameyang had been offside upon receiving the pass. Replays suggested that part of his upper body may have drifted past the defensive line; It was tight and goals have been scored for similar infractions, but this one ultimately held up.
In another throwback to the previous encounter, West Ham had been the best team ever. That’s not saying much given the lack of genuine action on goal in those first 25 minutes. But Moyes sent a side that he defended with discipline and was judicious in choosing when to probe. They were without Mark Noble, absent with a toe injury, but a late withdrawal from Arsenal XI helped their cause.
Kieran Tierney had suffered a strain on his hip in the warm-up and Sead Kolasinac took his place on the left back. The newcomer received a lengthy pep talk from Gabriel Magalhães, but the home defense seemed confused from the start. In four minutes, Arthur Masuaku had passed Gabriel too easily and won a corner heading down and then through Angelo Ogbonna nodded to Bernd Leno from a good position. Gabriel also seemed unsure when Jarrod Bowen threatened to shoot, and while that was all for excitement, West Ham took hold.
Lacazette snatched it from him, but Moyes’s side continued to plug. They screamed for a penalty when the ball seemed to hit Gabriel’s arm and were worthy of their draw, which came right at the break. The Arsenal defense left a lot to be desired as West Ham advanced down the right, Kolasinac didn’t press the ball, but Ryan Fredericks’ center was perfectly angled and Antonio reached out to sweep Leno into Arsenal’s goal.
Saka had shot up shortly after Lacazette’s goal, but Arsenal had generally struggled to keep up. They resurfaced with greater purpose, but vacancies were still rare. After a long passing movement resulted in Saka being caught offside, Moyes and his team loudly applauded their team for maintaining their form. Seconds later they were almost celebrating with much more enthusiasm, Masuaku crossing deliciously from the left and Antonio slapping the arms of a grateful Leno from a matter of feet. At the hour it was Aaron Cresswell’s turn to beat a beauty and Bowen, facing the downfall of Tomas Soucek, couldn’t make good contact when he was well placed.
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One of Arsenal’s problems, symbolized when Aubameyang sent the ball to diminutive Willian and saw West Ham clear easily, was that their prize asset was not getting close enough to goal. Another was that Willian himself was much less involved than at Fulham last week. He was replaced by Nicolas Pépé while Arteta searched for a spark. But it was Antonio who almost provided that for West Ham, heading against the crossbar before Leno blocked Bowen’s pursuit.
Nketiah came in and, after more good work from Saka who created the space for Ceballos, he became Arsenal’s hero. For long periods, this had been a story of how far Mikel Arteta still needs to take them; However, in the end, the Craven Cottage fighters had made sure they were happy families again.
