West Ham United have defeated Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League.
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While both sides didn’t have clear cut chanes, The Hammers looked unsafe on the break with their new signing Dimitri Payet looking sharp as he was involved amidst all of their attacking play.
The Gunners boss must have been horrified with the way his team, tipped to finally end the club’s 12-year wait to win the title, were bullied by West Ham, who ended a run of 10 successive defeats against Arsenal with their first win over their London rivals since April 2007.
And after a lengthy pre-season punctuated by six Europa League ties new manager Slaven Bilic was delighted to have a result that shows that their summer has not been wasted. And the fact that Cech is the only signing to date once again raises fears that Arsene Wenger has not been almost active enough in strengthening his squad.
“We know fitness wise, West Ham were ahead of us, they had already played competitive games”.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7: Arsenal’s man of the match.
After retiring from worldwide football last season, Mertesacker’s performances for Arsenal have gone from strength to strength but perhaps this may be the season where he will be replaced by Gabriel Paulista.
Payet proved less accurate with a 20-yarder that drifted well wide but, on the half-hour, West Ham were saved by the woodwork, when Giroud’s 18-yarder deflected off Aaron Cresswell, leaving the agile Adrian to fingernail the looping ball onto the crossbar and away for a corner.
Watford were the exception to the rule that stability is the key to success last season, as they gained promotion despite having four different managers in less than a year. His presence in the team is huge, he has become an indispensable player for Arsene Wenger.
And the same pattern continued after the re-start. “I found out last night I was playing, I was obviously happy”. He has soon established himself as the leading candidate for the left back spot. “I am very proud of the second-half performance”.
Coquelin 7: Good effort.
Southampton substitute Shane Long headed a late equaliser to deny Steve McClaren a winning Premier League start in charge of Newcastle. They say yes, this is the best position for me, yes this is a good shape.
The 21-year old has been a lively and energetic player for a few years now.
So while our opponents today have won just one of their last five games, Arsenal have been putting all and sundry, including Chelsea, to the sword.
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Arsenal host West Ham in their opener Sunday hoping to get their campaign off to the best possible start as they look to challenge for the title this season.
