West Ham suffered another awful defeat at the Emirates Stadium, deservedly losing 3-0 in a one-sided contest against North London rivals Arsenal.
Early on, West Ham defended gamely, but with little confidence that they could keep a clean sheet over 90 minutes. Once Mesut Ozil put Arsenal ahead after 58 minutes, there was only one winner. Theo Walcott scored the second 10 minutes later, while Oliver Giroud wrapped the game up seven minutes from time. It could have been much worse; the home side missed several good chances and had a certain penalty denied late.
To the amusement of the travelling Hammers' fans, the game started in a half-empty stadium. Some Arsenal supporters, protesting that it's been 13 years since Arsenal last won the league, failed to take their seat until 13 minutes into the game. As one embittered Hammer pointed out after, if West Ham fans protested in a similar fashion at the London Stadium on Saturday, no one would enter the stadium until the 22nd century.
Arsenal supporters may want to count themselves lucky to have Arsene Wenger and look at the opposing bench for someone under real pressure. Manager Slaven Bilic might claim he is not taking any notice of speculation about his position but, following the dreaded vote of confidence from the board, Saturday's game against relegation rivals Swansea becomes a must-win match.
Positives
After losing 5-1 at home to the Gunners, West Ham will be happy they don't have to face the Gunners again this season. If they continue in this form they won't have to play them next season either!
Negatives
Confidence is low and what little positivity the side possesses is being snuffed out by poor individual mistakes.
Manager rating out of 10:
4 -- Bilic still has many fans on his side, but the Hammers are suffering from some poor purchases last summer. One argument says the Croatian wasn't given enough to invest by the board, but the fact is a good deal of the money that was made available has been spent on underperforming players. Bilic needs to stop the rot quickly.
Player ratings (1-10; 10=best; players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):
GK Darren Randolph, 5 - Randolph claimed he was unsighted for the opening goal but the fact is more should be expected from the Irish international. Manages the basics well enough but doesn't command the area. It's time to bring Adrian back.
DF Sam Byram, 3 -- Was extremely lucky not to give away a blatant penalty with a challenge on Nacho Monreal late on. Byram had already been booked in the 77th minute and the right-back also failed to cut out the cross for Arsenal's second goal. Not a good night.
DF Jose Fonte, 4 -- Another player with an unforgivable individual error, it was Fonte's awful clearance that led to Arsenal's first goal. Poor.
DF James Collins, 6 -- Worked his socks off in defence, throwing himself at anything he couldn't get a head or foot to. Nowhere near perfect perhaps, but if the Hammers had more players with the Welsh international's attitude, they might not be in this mess.
DF Arthur Masuaku, 3 -- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain breezed past the Frenchman as if he was made of paper in the build-up to Arsenal's third goal. Nowhere near good enough.
MF Manuel Lanzini, 5 -- A couple of glimpses of goal were all the Argentine saw all evening.
MF Cheikhou Kouyate, 6 -- Showed why he needs to be given a definitive role in the side. The Senegalese international was solid in the middle of the park and might have been able to build something had the defence not crumbled behind him.
MF Mark Noble, 6 -- The captain was back and at least looked like he was concerned about his team's plight.
MF Andre Ayew, 4 -- Simply not involved enough; Ayew does not look like a £20 million player.
MF Michail Antonio, 5 -- Surprisingly back from injury, it was good to see Antonio return much earlier than expected. He only lasted until half-time, though.
FW Andy Carroll, 5 -- Isolated with no service, Carroll wasn't able to threaten Arsenal at all and left the fray just after the hour.
Substitutes
Robert Snodgrass, 5 -- Came on for Antonio after the break but provided nothing of note. The Scottish international's ineffective form since he joined in January is starting to be a major concern.
Diafra Sakho, 5 -- Another surprising return after it had been rumoured that the Senegalese striker wouldn't be fit again this season. Replacing the ineffective Carroll in the 64th minute, Sakho only managed a handful of touches, but at least gained some much-needed game time.
Edimilson Fernandes, N/R -- A substitute for Noble on 80 minutes, by which time the game had long been lost.