In what was an afternoon to forget, West Ham were thrashed 6-0 by Arsenal, suffering their heaviest home defeat in over 60 years, with many fans feeling they had seen enough and heading for the exit door by half time.
For a portion of the first half, many Hammers fans would not have expected what was to unfold in the remainder of the tie at the London Stadium. After William Saliba opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 32nd minute, following a corner from Declan Rice, David Moyes’ side fell apart.
West Ham conceded another three goals within the space of 15 minutes. Following a penalty from Bukayo Saka, a well timed header from Gabriel from another Declan Rice set piece delivery, and a goal from Leandro Trossard, who cut inside under no pressure from West Ham’s defence and curled the ball into the far corner, the Hammers were four goals down as the half time whistle blew.
Many supporters had seen enough by this point and headed home after a miserable opening 45 minutes. England international Bukayo Saka scored his second of the game 18 minutes into the second half, shifting the ball inside and drilling his finish low into the bottom corner.
Just when West Ham fans thought things could not get any worse, adding insult to injury, former West Ham captain Declan Rice curled a long range effort first time past an outstretched Alphonse Areola to make it 6-0. Muted in his celebrations, Rice’s long range strike capped off a commanding performance by Mikel Arteta’s side and a depressing afternoon for the Hammers.
David Moyes’ side have conceded nine goals in their last two matches and have not won a game in the Premier League in 2024 so far. Ironically, West Ham’s last league win was on the 28th of December away at the Emirates against Arsenal.
The Hammers next four Premier League games are against Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Everton and Burnley, all of whom are in the bottom six. Supporters will be hoping performances can take an upturn and that West Ham can pick up some points in this next run of fixtures to reignite their season.
Written by Finlay Jackson