Soccer / arsenal vs west ham

Arsenal fought well and enough to earn three points off their London rivals, West Ham at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners defeated their visitors, who were reduced to 10 men half way through the second half 2-0. Gabriel Martinelli getting the nod again, opened scoring with a well-taken goal, before substitute, Emile Smith Rowe, who had missed their last two matches popped up to score the second late on. This was after Alexandre Lacazette had seen his penalty saved by former Arsenal goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski. It was an unchanged side for Mikel Arteta from the side that saw off Southampton over the weekend. Alexandre Lacazette continued upfront with the captain's armband, which has now been stripped of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his disciplinary breach. David Moyes made only one tweak to his side bring in Pablo Fornals in place of Said Benrahma who started on the bench. There were no real scoring chances early on, however there were talking points, one of which was the first yellow card received by Pablo Fornals for putting his elbow to Kieran Tierney's throat, an incident that later hurt his team. Lacazette also had appeals for a penalty turned down after he collided with Dawson while trying to meet a cross from Martin Odegaard. The hosts had two glorious chances to score late in the first half but were denied by last minute defending. Granit Xhaka was blocked off from getting a shot at goal. The ball falling kindly to Tierney at the edge of the box and he hit a well - struck shot that needed a last hand save by Fabianski unto the bar. Martinelli would just before half time miss from less than six yards out. Lacazette had received the ball at the edge of the West Ham goal, spins his marker and hit a low shot into the corner that was parried into Martinelli's part, but the young Brazialin was put off by Dawson with a last minute tackle as the half ended goalless. The hosts needed just three minutes after the restart to take the lead. Lacazette timing the run of Martinelli with a pass from deep as the Brazilian raced on goal and slotted into the bottom right corner. West Ham responded well with an opportunity of their own. An attempted cross field pass from Gabriel Maghaeles was intercepted by Jarod Bowen, who found his way into the Arsenal box, before sending his effort into the top corner, only to be denied by Aaron Ramsdale. With the time racing towards the final 20 minutes, West Ham were reduced to 10 men after Coufal brought down Lacazette in the area, receiving his second booking and the striker's spot kick was saved by Fabianski. Shortly before that, Odegaard tested the former Arsenal stopper from a free kick. Gabriel also saw his attempted scissors kick from a set piece go just wide after the penalty miss. It was Smith Rowe, who had come on for Odegaard that sealed the victory moments after his shot on goal was blocked by Issa Diop. Bukayo Saka having won the ball from a scuffle with Benrahma close to the Arsenal box led the counterattack, before release his Academy graduate partner, Smith Rowe to the right. With many thinking Rowe would look for the final pass as he drifted inwards from the right, he left everyone shocked by taking the shot on his weaker left foot into the boron right corner, leaving Fabianski glued to the spot. Concluding Thoughts It was a derby that lived up to its expectations with the enjoyable quality produced by both sides, especially in the firs half, even though it didn't produce any goal. As I mentioned in my previous Arsenal match report the distraction from Aubameyang's indiscipline is not what Arsenal needs at the moment and they looked not to be worried about that with their intense performance. They ran from start to finish, which is what Arteta wants from his team, one of the reasons I feel Nicolas Pepe has been missing from the selections. The good work put in up front by Lacazette can never go unnoticed, taking away his penalty miss. I have always opined over time that I'd pick Lacazette over Aubameyang, even before thses disciplinary issues surfaced. The Frenchman's hold up play, ability to play his more advanced team members forward, like we saw with the Martinelli goal and his overall game play is impressive. If they can, I think they should keep him beyond the summer and get a striker to partner him, if Aubameyang seems surplus to requirements. West Ham have won big games this season, beating the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, but it just looks like the Moyes factor against Arsenal would not allow them victory this time. Moyes has not won away at Arsenal in 18 attempts. The Hammers have not been too impressive in their recent outings and although they went a man down, they still gave a good account of themselves, a performance that can be built on.