Kevin Whitcher's Arsenal Blog

West Ham 0 Arsenal 6     Premier League    Sunday 11th February 2024  2pm     Against Palace, Arsenal won 5-0 without having to play that well. At West Ham yesterday, once again the opposition were poor, but on the back of an excellent performance against Liverpool, Mikel Arteta’s team were in top form and might have scored more than the six they did. Once Declan Rice had scored the final goal of the game, the Gunners’ manager took off the scorer, Saka and Trossard and no further damage was done to distress the Hammers’ fans that did remain in the stadium until the final whistle.   Jorginho and Zinchenko were the players replaced from the win a week before, the latter injured. Trossard and Kiwior came in, the Belgian as the central striker with Havertz playing deeper. Trossard had two of his side’s best chances before the scoring opened after half an hour had been played. It was one way traffic with Arsenal creating a...

Arsenal 0 West Ham 2     Premier League    Thursday 28th December 2023 8.15pm   David Moyes’ record as a manager against Arsenal at both Highbury and the Emirates isn’t one he will be pleased with, but the law of averages states he had to win eventually and his gameplan last night brought rewards.   Yet he was assisted by an off night for Arsenal’s defenders, who have overall been reliable this season. In contrast to their opponents, they were sloppy for the first goal, and failed to mark the scorer properly for the second. Gabriel made a hash of the clearance for the opener, although for all the world, the ball then went out of play. On the camera angle that VAR had, I could see the line ok, but no trace of the ball. It was a shocker of a decision, but not the first Arsenal have seen in the build-up to a goal this season. Swings and roundabouts? They got away with a handball in the penalty area at Anfield. Yet, the move shouldn’t even have reached tha...

West Ham 3 Arsenal 1    League Cup 4th Round    Wednesday 1st November 2023 7.30pm       1 -  All change  – only four Arsenal players that started the weekend match against Sheffield United retained their places for this last 16 tie at West Ham. Their hosts themselves made five changes, although having lost at home to Everton the preceding weekend, there was an argument that David Moyes was looking at whether those who performed poorly in the league might be replaced by those who can only have played better last night. As for Mikel Arteta, the only real question was who he’d start from his first choice pool, so it was Ben White, Gabriel, Zinchenko and Nketiah who were selected. As expected, Ramsdale got his chance, Kiwior joined the back four, and the midfield trio were Jorginho, Vieira and Havertz. Nelson and Trossard played either side of Eddie. So on paper, it looked a strong enough eleven to progress, but on the pitch, the ...

West Ham 2 Arsenal 2     Premier League    Sunday 16th April 2023 2pm     Another Sunday, another two-goal lead away from home. Arsenal looking in control and then shooting themselves in the foot. Ah well, the season is far from over and they remain undefeated in their previous nine League matches. However, when Mikel Arteta talked about ten cup finals before the Leeds game, the reality is that penalty shootouts don’t apply, and draws cost two points. Arsenal have taken five points from a potential nine in the first three ‘finals’ and we may look back on the loss of winning positions at Anfield and the London Stadium with regret come the season’s end. There have been a few notable 2-2s in Arsenal’s title challenges over the years. Sure, Birmingham 2008 is a scar on the memory, although I had more of a Bolton 2003 feel after yesterday’s match. 20 years on West Ham could not play with as much physicality as Bolton, as players are more protected, but in the se...

Arsenal 3 West Ham 1   Premier League   Monday 26th December 2022 8pm     Firstly, just to say that there was a policy during the World Cup on The Gooner Twitter account of not mentioning the tournament due to the current editor’s decision that it should be completely ignored on political grounds. This means that some people who read this blog thanks to an agreement whereby I can retweet once daily on the Gooner Twitter account (by seeing tweets there about fresh blog entries) may not have even been aware that I was blogging throughout the finals – including a nine night stay in Qatar. So if you have any interest in my experience of the tournament and Qatar itself, having attended eight matches during the group phase – one in every stadium –  they can be found from this page .  Just scroll down and then hit ‘More posts’ at the bottom to work your way back to the first of 14 entries written during the tournament. Back to domestic matters though, and with Ars...

West Ham 2 Arsenal 1   Premier League   Sunday 1st May 2022   4.30pm     Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how points are won, as long as they are won. The 90 minutes yesterday at the Olympic Stadium were a hard watch, and certainly one I can safely say I won’t take the opportunity to catch again in the years ahead.   West Ham started six of the players that were picked for the semi final against Eintracht Frankfurt, although there were some key men left out – not least Antonio and Soucek. Arsenal brought in Martinelli, Tomiyasu and Holding in three changes from the win against Manchester United, as Smith Rowe and Cedric dropped to the bench, with Ben White out of the picture due to a tight hamstring. There was little doubt that West Ham’s priority is the second leg of their semi final next Thursday, and it was reflected in their organization and relative lack of ambition in this game. It was a policy of containment for the most part, and for a long time, it wo...

Arsenal 2 West Ham United 0   Premier League   Wednesday 15th December 2021   8pm     It was certainly a match in which Arsenal needed to make a statement, given West Ham’s position above them in the table, and the club’s aspirations to start closing the gap that has seen a series of disappointing finishing positions in recent Premier League campaigns. Additionally, further exorcism of the recent poor displays away from home was required. The performance last weekend against Southampton saw the flickers of recovery, albeit against relegation contenders, and Arteta stayed consistent with his team selection, even if the opposition was a far tougher proposition. Emile Smith Rowe remained on the bench, and it feels like Kieran Tierney may have simply been held back to ensure maximum fitness and now appears to be the first choice left back once more. The contribution of Gabriel Martinelli justified his continued selection, and Arteta has a nice problem now, with thre...

West Ham United 3 Arsenal 3   Premier League Sunday 21st March 2021, 3pm Firstly, it needs stating that Arsenal came into this match less than three complete days after their second leg against Olympicos. West Ham had not played since the previous Sunday. Whether or not that mitigates the Hammers being three goals up after 32 minutes is debatable. Is fatigue a factor in the first half normally? Their impressive comeback suggested that fitness levels were not the issue. There were five changes from the side that lost the match last Thursday, and Calum Chambers starting at right back was the most notable, given how he has struggled in that position in the past. Even commentator Martin Tyler referenced his nightmare against Swansea’s Montero, which seems a long time ago now. Chambers was signed in the summer of 2014 – he is now in his seventh season at the club, although he had spent two seasons out on loan. He has also suffered long term injury. There is a theory he is being given ga...

Arsenal 2 West Ham 1 Premier League Saturday 19th September 2020  8pm Arsenal’s last match before a paying audience before the lockdown was a pretty laboured Premier League win against West Ham at the Emirates. Fast forward six months, and this season’s edition of the fixture, and on one level, little has changed. Yet, fans can feel better about this particular undeserved win. This is because of what has transpired since – victories over Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea have renewed confidence. The critical presence of the club captain has been secured until summer 2023. Arsenal are in the top two with maximum points from their fixtures so far. If the league is to be more competitive at the business end of the table this season, and Arsenal have any aspirations to be involved, beating the likes of West Ham at home is an example of a non-negotiable, to paraphrase Mikel Arteta. And on the day, it doesn’t matter how. Long term, the team will need to make less heavy weather ...