West Ham United suffered another defeat, this time at the hands of Arsenal, in an incredibly chaotic game at the London Stadium that finished 5-2.
It was Gabriel who gave Mikel Arteta’s side the lead, with a corner paying off for Arsenal once again, as the Brazilian defender fired his header past Lukasz Fabianski.
The visitors’ lead was doubled in the 27th minute as Leandro Trossard finished off a superb move, well teed up by Bukayo Saka. Martin Odegaard scored the first of two penalties in the 34th minute, and Kai Havertz made it 4-0 after finishing a superb one-on-one chance two minutes later.
After complete domination from Arsenal, Julen Lopetegui’s side managed to get themselves back into the game. Aaron Wan-Bissaka got his second goal in as many games, with a lovely finish following a smart run. Emerson Palmieri scored a thumping free-kick minutes after, which smashed against the crossbar and past David Raya, leaving the Spaniard with no chance.
The Gunners extended their lead once more, with Fabianski making a rash foul on Gabriel and giving away a penalty. This time, Saka stepped up and slotted home to all but seal the points for the visitors. Few things of note happened in the second half, and the Hammers succumbed to another defeat.
West Ham’s worst performers vs. Arsenal
There were certainly some poor performances from those in Claret and Blue against the Hammers. One of those players was Fabianski, who had a tough day at the office against his former side. The Poland international conceded five goals in the space of 40 minutes and gave away a penalty.
His stats from the game, courtesy of Sofascore, did not make for pretty reading. He prevented -1.99 goals in the game, and managed just two saves from seven shots on target. The Hammers number one also completed just 55% of his passes.
Another player for the East London outfit who put in a disappointing performance was midfielder Tomas Soucek. The Czech Republic star, who normally makes himself known in the centre of the park, struggled to influence the game today.
The 29-year-old had 45 touches of the ball and completed just 69% of his passes. Soucek lost the ball 11 times and failed to create a chance. He did work hard out of possession and reaped the rewards, winning seven from eight duels.
As disappointing as Fabianski and Soucek were, there was perhaps someone who was even more disappointing for the Hammers, centre-back Max Kilman.
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Max Kilman’s stats vs. Arsenal
It is not easy for a centre-back to play well but for their side to concede five goals in the same game, and unfortunately for Kilman, it was not his day on Saturday evening. He has been assured at the back since joining West Ham over the summer, but that was not the case against the Gunners.
Kilman was the man at fault for Havertz’s goal, which was a composed finish one-on-one past. The German striker ran in behind the Hammers’ backline, unorganised with their number 26 the deepest of the defenders.
Despite his efforts, the 27-year-old could not get a foot on the pass from Trossard and Havertz was able to make it 4-0.
As the stats show, it was a tough night at the office for Kilman. He had 57 touches, and whilst he was fairly composed in possession, completing 84% of his passes, he did leave a little to be desired, losing the ball seven times.
Defensively, those few moments let the defender down, as he made one error leading to a goal and won one from three aerial duels. On that evidence, it was hardly a surprise that Hammers insiders Claretandhugh handed him a dismal 4/10 player rating for his efforts.
Stat
Number
Touches
57
Pass accuracy
84%
Passes completed
37/44
Aerial duels won
1/3
Number of times possession lost
7
Errors leading to goal
1
With a big game against Leicester City coming up, Lopetegui might well decide to rotate Kilman out of the side for the game against the Foxes.
It would be a bold move, but after conceding five goals on Sunday evening, it might be worthwhile to shake things up at the back ahead of a game West Ham must pick up three points in.
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