The good, bad and ugly of Arsenal exposed in thrilling draw against West Ham
Early kick-off games in the Premier League always have some surprises in store for the fans, and there were a lot of wow moments during the game between West Ham United and Arsenal on Sunday.
The game pitched two sides that are aiming to secure a place in Europe. The Hammers went into the game sitting in fifth place and looking to break into the top four.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s side is also pushing to at least finish in the Europa League places after a series of underwhelming results left their Champions League hopes in tatters.
With a lot on the line, both teams came out guns blazing. This was a typical game of two halves and the 3-3 scoreline was a true reflection of what transpired within 90 minutes.
A thrilling game of football
West Ham have been one of the most exciting sides in the Premier League this season and they didn’t disappoint against Arsenal. They took the game to the Gunners right from the blast of the referee's whistle.
By the 17th minute, David Moyes’ side were already 2-0 up thanks to quick-fire goals from Jesse Lingard and Jarrod Bowen. West Ham made it 3-0 after the half-hour mark when Tomas Soucek guided Michail Antonio’s goal-bound header past Bernd Leno.
At this point it looked like Arsenal were dead and buried. However, the Gunners came to life in the last 10 minutes of the first half and pulled one back after Alexandre Lacazette’s deflected off Soucek for an own goal.
Arteta’s side put up a spirited performance in the second half and managed to claw their way back to 3-3, thanks to another own goal by Craig Dawson and a fine header from Lacazette.
There were many more chances for both teams and the game could have even ended 6-6 or 7-7. It was a thrilling game of football for every neutral, although Arteta and Moyes won’t be too happy with their defenders.
Two-faced Arsenal rears its head again
The problem with Arsenal under Arteta is their lack of consistency. The Gunners can do so well this weekend and revert to a shocking performance in the next game.
On Sunday, the good, bad and ugly of the team was exposed once again. Arsenal lacked personality and were in shambles defensively in the first half, but sublime in the second.
"This game is going to give me a few nightmares because it is really difficult to stop some of the things we have been doing to hurt ourselves," Arteta said after the game, as quoted by Marca.
"That is the level we can show, the other is top-level and probably the best we play all season -- we could have scored six or seven goals and won the game, but we cannot have two faces.”
Arsenal once again showed their two faces and the Gunners will continue to struggle to finish in the top four unless they put their inconsistency behind them once and for all.