English Premier League aspirants Arsenal traveled to London Stadium for their Carabao Cup Round-Of-16 clash with local rivals West Ham United on Wednesday night (November 1). Beating the Hammers, especially in their own backyard, was always going to be a tricky affair, but not many would have expected such a comprehensive thrashing. David Moyes’ boys schooled Mikel Arteta’s side, securing a massive 3-1 victory to move into the quarter-finals of the 2023-24 Carabao Cup.
Arsenal Reserves Fail To Impress In Important Carabao Cup Outing
Winning the Carabao Cup was not at the top of Arteta’s list of priorities, but the manner in which his team were outplayed must have hurt the Spanish tactician. There was no threat in attack, solidity in midfield, and intelligence in defense, making for a drab Arsenal showing.
Regulars Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard all started from the bench at London Stadium, making room for Jorginho, Reiss Nelson, Leandro Trossard, and Kai Havertz to make an impact. Unfortunately, no fringe player brought forth the dedication Arteta was looking for.
Stalwart Ben White scored an own goal in the 16th minute, sending Jarrod Bowen’s corner into his net. In the 38th minute, Arsenal had a golden chance to equalize, but Eddie Nketiah skied Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross over the crossbar. Having survived the late first-half scare, West Ham came out all guns blazing in the second 45 and doubled their lead with a goal from Mohammed Kudus in the 50th minute.
Then, on the hour mark, Bowen got on the scoresheet, with his strike taking a heavy deflection off Jakub Kiwior and beating Aaron Ramsdale. Odegaard scored a neat tap-in off the bench in the 90+6th minute, but it was too late for Arsenal to mount a comeback.
It was an important game for Nelson, Trossard, Jorginho, and Fabio Vieira, as they could have secured more game time by pitching in with a compelling performance. Vieira, who assisted Odegaard’s goal, was the only player who did something of note in the game.
Last year, Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge fell apart after William Saliba picked up a long-term injury. Arteta brought some key players over the summer to avoid any such mishaps this season, but by the looks of it, the bench is still not ready to fill in for the first-team players.
Arteta Shoulders Blame For West Ham Embarrassment
Speaking to the press after the game, the former Manchester City assistant coach took the blame for Arsenal’s poor showing in the Carabao Cup.
He said (via Arsenal.com):
“I’m very disappointed. Obviously, I’m responsible for that, we are out of the cup and we wanted to play a very different game, and especially we wanted to compete in a game like this, which we discussed for 48 hours, in a very different way to what we’ve done.”
The Gunners, who are in second place in the Premier League standings, will return to action with a league clash against Newcastle United on Saturday, November 4.
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