“You knew Arsenal were going to get chances” - Thierry Henry says Arsenal star could have scored ‘two or three’ in defeat to West Ham
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry criticised striker Gabriel Jesus for his lack of a clinical touch in their Premier League defeat against West Ham United on Thursday, December 28.
The Gunners suffered their third league defeat of the season, losing 2-0 against West Ham at the Emirates. Tomas Soucek opened the scoring for the visitors in the 13th minute via a cross from Jarrod Bowen.
Konstantinos Mavropanos made it 2-0 in the 55th minute from a James Ward-Prowse corner. West Ham could've made it 3-0 in stoppage time as they received a penalty after Declan Rice fouled Emerson in the box. However, David Raya saved Said Benrahma's penalty.
Arsenal created plenty of chances throughout the game but lacked the finishing touch. They had 74% possession and made a whopping 30 attempts on goal with eight being on target. Gabriel Jesus took three shots, missing two big chances.
After the game, Henry spoke about the Gunners' wastefulness and Jesus' performance, saying on Amazon Prime (via Metro):
"You knew Arsenal were going to get chances. Sometimes it hits the post, there is a leg on the line or it is not finishing well. Gabriel Jesus could have scored two or three. He didn’t.
"But you have to give credit to West Ham. Not conceding at the Emirates is something amazing."
Mikel Arteta's side had 77 touches in West Ham's penalty box, which is the most ever by a Premier League team without scoring.
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal having 77 touches in box against West Ham but failing to score
The Gunners put up a dominating performance against West Ham on Thursday but couldn't find the back of the net. They also failed to defend the chances created by the Hammers, who had six attempts on goal. They had three shots on target, which included two goals and Said Benrahma's saved penalty attempt.
After the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about his side being wasteful despite dominating the game. He acknowledged that they needed to score but also heaped praise on West Ham, saying (via Arsenal.com):
"They were great, we have to put the ball in the net and win it, and as well because the two situations in the box we have to defend in the box, we didn’t defend it well enough.
"It’s a team that are really good in the box, with the timing, the quality they have with the front players arriving and that’s what made the difference today unfortunately and it is a very disappointing night for us because I think we should have got much more from the game."
Arsenal slipped to second place in the Premier League standings after Matchday 19 and sit two points behind Liverpool. Meanwhile, West Ham remained sixth, nine points behind the Reds.