It was a tough London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the Gunners battled West Ham United to the very end of the match. Mikel Arteta’s men weren’t very lively in the opening minutes of the encounter as they almost concede a quick goal in the opening two minutes of the game.
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen struck the woodwork in the early stages before Michail Antonio also wasted a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock.
However, the home side grew into the game and they piled much pressure on their visitors but it remained goalless throughout the first 45 minutes of the game.
The second half saw a better display from Arsenal who needed maximum points to boost their Champions League’s qualifying hopes for the next season.
Nketiah, Sokratis and Granit Xhaka all have their chances to put the Gunners ahead but the ball couldn’t find its way into Fabianski’s net.
The Hammers also have some chances of their own at the other end of the pitch and one of them was Antonio’s well-struck header that was saved by Bernd Leno’s mighty hands.
After 78 minutes of actions and some controversies, the host eventually broke the deadlock via second-half substitute Alexandre Lacazette who replaced Eddie Nketiah.
The Frenchman converted from close range after a lovely pass from Mesut Ozil. The goal was initially ruled out for offside by the match officials, but the decision was turned down by VAR after a lengthy check.
With the result, Arsenal now occupy the 9th position on the League table with 40 points. They are five points behind fourth-place Chelsea who play host to Everton at the Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and they have a game at hand.
At full-time, some Arsenal fans took to social media networking site Twitter to express delight with Ozil and Saka’s performance against Hammers. While there are some who believed Saka is very good, others cannot stop admitting the Premier League’s “king of assists” is back.
Below are some of the best selected tweets:
Saka is so good. #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/cIQONOoJz3
— Tanish (@tanfab4) March 7, 2020
Saka is unbelievable
— P™ (@SemperFiArsenal) March 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/LacaSweat/status/1236323335115624450?s=20
Saka hardly ever delivers a bad cross. Always forces the defence to do something.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) March 7, 2020
Beyond caring for Arsenal. Only ones I really care about are Martinelli and Saka.
— C (@AFC_Carys) March 7, 2020
Bukayo Saka's perfomance against West Ham using numbers.
100% Tackle Success
67% Duels Won
67% Aerial Duels Won
90% Passing Accuracy
3 Key Passes
1 Big Chance CreatedThis kid has a very bright future!
Performing at a high level! #ARSWHU #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/GuWstA1CJ3— AE Football (@AEFootball_) March 7, 2020
Is Ozil the only player in the world who thinks to pass from that position? ?
It’s great but also hilarious.— YankeeGunner (@YankeeGunner) March 7, 2020
Ceballos really makes you appreciate Ozil’s ability to see and execute a pass without taking 40 touches first. Goddamn man, you and Pépé need to just move it along sometimes
— Nate Smith (@nws13) March 7, 2020
I don’t understand why I’m seeing Lacazette slander on my timeline. He came on after being dropped, played with intensity and purpose, set up Ozil with a ball before converting his only chance.
He won us the game today. Give him credit where credit is due. ? pic.twitter.com/ncjjVjAIYy
— Max. ♣️ (@AFCMax9) March 7, 2020
Mesut Ozil king of assists is back babyyy ??
— LTArsenal™ (@ltarsenal) March 7, 2020
Lets settle this
RETWEET FOR OZIL
LIKE FOR BRUNO#ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/aBeoGdInlV— Ken-MUFC (@kent_mufc) March 7, 2020
Mesut Özil now has more assists for Arsenal (72) than he had for Real Madrid (71). #ARSWHU pic.twitter.com/2pcPhk3R7D
— #FreeMesutÖzil (@WeAreOzil) March 7, 2020
