West Ham United moved four points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone on Sunday afternoon with a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the London Stadium.
Premier League leaders Arsenal had gone 2-0 up inside the opening ten minutes of the game after quick-fire goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard, two strikes that were later cancelled out by Said Benrahma (penalty) and Jarrod Bowen either side of half-time, with Bukayo Saka missing a spot-kick which would have extended the Gunners lead with the score at 2-1.
As West Ham earned a point after going 2-0 down in a league game for the first time since drawing 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur in October 2020, here are five of the main talking points.
READ MORE: Every word David Moyes said on West Ham’s Arsenal draw, comeback, injuries and Gianluca Scamacca
A crucial comeback
Not many West Ham fans would have been confident of getting points against league leaders Arsenal, considering the breezing form the Gunners have been in for much of this season, entering the weekend six points clear at the top of the Premier League standings and having only dropped points eight times in their 30 league games prior to heading to east London.
Given West Ham were playing for the second time in less than 72 hours and Arsenal had a completely free week, the scene was set for Arsenal to complete a routine victory against David Moyes’ men.
The scene was not only set, but the introduction and plot to the story of the game looked all set inside ten minutes when first Jesus, then Odegaard, blasted close-range efforts past Lukasz Fabianski to give West Ham a 2-0 deficit to try and overturn. Any pre-match confidence from supporters will have almost certainly vanished.
For Jesus, he was the grateful party at the end of an excellent, quick-moving and intricate passing move around West Ham’s box. A through ball to Ben White was fizzed through the box for the Brazilian striker, who was never going to miss from where he was positioned.
Arsenal fans were probably still celebrating Jesus’ opener when captain Odegaard doubled the lead with a sensational finish, although another goal in quick succession where Arsenal had bamboozled their hosts.
What West Ham did get was a flatter period from their opponents, allowing them time to settle, re-group and then plot their way to trying to get back into the tie, with Michail Antonio’s pace against Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes showing optimism that West Ham could find a way back into the tie.
West Ham did exactly that, with the half chances allowing them to grow in confidence and press higher, the exact route of their penalty. Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was caught in possession deep in his own half by Gunners transfer target Declan Rice, who won the ball, drove into the box and set up Lucas Paqueta, who skipped past Gabriel, before the centre-back bought down his Brazilian compatriot.
VAR had checked for a handball on Rice as he tackled Partey, but found himself on the fortunate side of the call. Benrahma stepped up and sent Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way from 12 yards out, his fifth goal in the Premier League this season, four of which have come from the spot.
West Ham grew in confidence from there and ended the first half on top, roaring on a home crowd who had previously been silenced by Arsenal’s two early blows.
Ten days earlier, 2-1 down at half-time proved to be a dangerous scoreline for the Hammers as they lost 5-1 to Newcastle United. Although this time was not 20 seconds in, Arsenal did have a chance to make it 3-1 when given a penalty for a Michail Antonio handball. However, West Ham were given a big lifeline when Saka failed to hit the target from the spot for the first time in his Arsenal career.
That proved to be a major moment in the tie, as it took just two minutes for West Ham to level the tie after Saka’s miss. As West Ham saw a set-piece cleared, Thilo Kehrer, playing at centre-back in place of injured duo Angelo Ogbonna and Nayef Aguerd, side-footed a long pass that cleared Arsenal’s back line and Bowen through on goal, who lashed home a stunning strike on the volley that proved too hot for Ramsdale to handle.
From then on, barring routine saves, West Ham looked the closest to adding the game’s fifth game, if there was ever going to be one. Antonio, who had threatened throughout the game came closest, with his header denied only by the frame of the game.
West Ham now sit four points clear of the relegation zone, one point more than they started the weekend in, despite dropping two league places from 13th to 15th. Even if Leeds United beat Liverpool on Monday to climb above the Hammers, West Ham’s increased advantage over the bottom three after a game where they have played the league leaders is a huge boost with just seven full rounds of Premier League fixtures remaining this term.
Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta step up
West Ham need characters, big personalities and quality when in the midst of a relegation battle, and in midfield dynamo Rice and Paqueta, they have got exactly that.
At 2-0, it would have been so easy for West Ham to buckle and not offer much of a fight. The game was a free hit for the Hammers, but spearheaded by the quick-thinking, tenacious pressing and quality of Rice and Paqueta changed the game.
Not only are they star midfielders, but in terms of profile, none are bigger names than Rice and Paqueta.
With just over 30 minutes gone, Rice pounced on Partey, who many have suggested could be teammates in north London next season. Admittedly, there was the assistance of Rice’s hand in there, but Arsenal’s scouting network, transfer board and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will have seen what Rice was able to do to Partey and will have have only seen their reasoning for wanting to plot a summer move bolstered.
As Rice won the ball and darted in the box, he squared it Paqueta, who with his stylish samba feet, skipped past fellow Brazilian Gabriel, who could do nothing else but challenge him to the floor, giving West Ham a penalty that changed the game when the Hammers had done very little for the opening third of the game.
That move, and Benrahma’s converted spot-kick, did everything to change the game, especially against a London rival and a side currently leading the Premier League table. It got the crowd not just flat to fiery, but the home supporters roared every tackle, were so behind a side that showed little to no imagination for 30 minutes prior.
West Ham, in short, were excellent from that penalty until the game’s final whistle, and on the basis of the second half, manager Moyes was right in feeling that the Hammers could well have ended up winning the game.
Rice made four interceptions, one more than the entire Arsenal team combined, while Pauqeta was so good at striding with the ball, chasing lost causes and adding that flair West Ham paid north of £35million for in August, with the duo both winning six duels each in the game.
Should Rice’s expected exit happen in the summer, we may be looking at the final weeks of a short partnership between Rice and Paqueta in midfield, but when they are at their best on the same day, not many midfield combinations in the league would be able to keep them quiet.
The Liverpool repeat and avoiding Newcastle Deja Vu
For Arsenal, there was a severe case of unwanted Deja Vu, having drawn 2-2 away at Liverpool a week earlier in very similar circumstances.
At Anfield, Gabriels Martinelli and Jesus had scored within half an hour to give Arteta’s side a 2-0 lead, but again, they could not hold out, with Liverpool getting back into it via Mohamed Salah before half-time and Roberto Firmino’s leveller three minutes from time.
West Ham emulated Liverpool’s comeback and at the same time, avoided an unwanted repeat of their 5-1 loss to Newcastle United earlier this month.
At 2-1 in the interval, West Ham had the momentum, had the fans on side and gave themselves every chance of getting something from it, managing to do exactly that.
Against Newcastle, West Ham sacrificed their chances of a second half fight-back inside 20 seconds when Aguerd and Fabianski made a meal of a very basic roll out and start of possession. West Ham avoided their own self-collapse, and although Antonio gave away an early penalty, Saka’s miss gave everyone a life and West Ham capitalised to good effect.
The Arsenal result was everything the hammering by Newcastle could and should have been, had it not been for West Ham’s collapse. But having a point out of Arsenal at home is only a result that could be looked upon with great satisfaction.
Michail Antonio’s role
Striker Antonio may not have scored in the game and gave away the penalty where Arsenal should have gone 3-1 up, but back in the starting side after a midweek cameo in Gent, the Jamaican international was excellent.
In the first half, he largely had to feed off scraps and start counter-attacks almost single-handedly, but he managed to do exactly that, giving Rob Holding and Gabriel all sorts of problems in the first half.
Antonio was great at carrying West Ham forward and up the pitch, drawing fouls and using his aerial ability, strength and pace combined to win West Ham situations where they could make things happen from. He ended the game joint-top for fouls won and joint-second for completed dribbles.
He might not be as clinical as Danny Ings is, but he offers so much more to the team than goals and considering West Ham often play with a sole man up front, Antonio is certainly the best-equipped to fulfil the role right now and is hitting good form, even if the goals of a striker are not quite there.
The drawing board of draws
It would be absolutely right to file this among West Ham’s best results of the season so far, but the issue that Moyes’ men have is that too many of those games have only been draws.
West Ham have played host to four of the ‘big six’ so far in the league, holding three of them (Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham) to draws, only losing to Manchester City. They have also held Champions League hopefuls Newcastle United to a draw away from home, while also coming from behind at Southampton and Leeds United to earn points.
West Ham have also gone to Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and had spells of playing well, with fair arguments to be made that in all of them at times, it would not have been completely unfair for the result to end as a draw.
That is perhaps among the big issues for West Ham this season. Often, their better performances have come in games where maximum points have not been achieved, sometimes better than how they have played in matches they have actually won.
Had West Ham picked up a much higher tally of points from those games alone, this season could be a whole lot better and they may well have been in a battle for a much bigger reward than just Premier League survival, but at least they have shown they can compete with and cause problems for the Premier League’s best sides when at the London Stadium.
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