X reacts as Arsenal crush West Ham with first-half drubbing
David Moyes admitted that his West Ham United side have «been off the boil a little» ahead of Sunday's contest but they completely imploded while conceding four goals in a ruinous first half against Arsenal.
West Ham had already beaten Arsenal twice this season, dutifully frustrating the Gunners with a compact and concrete rearguard. However, Arsenal's finishing — or lack thereof — played its role in the Premier League and Carabao Cup reversals.
For the first 30 minutes of Arsenal's trip to the London Stadium this weekend, the script threatened to repeat itself.
Leandro Trossard was on the end of Arsenal's early chances, glancing a head narrowly wide before forcing a superb stop from Alphonse Areola with a crisp volley.
Arsenal could easily be two up. Our ability to squander chances is unsurpassed.
West Ham are hardly the only team to stymy the Gunners this term. As Mikel Arteta reflected earlier in the campaign: «It's not going to be as fluent, it's not going to be as hectic, because there's no space to run. When you're sitting in traffic, I want to go 100 miles an hour but I have three buses and 55 taxis and motorbikes around me, so it's tricky.»
Stuck in another bout of gridlock, Arsenal relied upon a familiar solution: set pieces.
A sly block from Ben White prevented Areola from claiming Declan Rice's 32nd-minute corner, allowing the ball to sail onto William Saliba's head at back post.
Set pieces, baby.
23% of Arsenal's Premier League goals this season have come from corners.
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