Football • Sports News

West Ham vs Arsenal Player Ratings

April 16, 2023 4:31 pm
West Ham vs Arsenal Player Ratings
West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen (second right) scores their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at the London Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday April 16, 2023. - Photo by Icon sport

West Ham Player Ratings

Lukasz Fabianski 6/10 – Couldn’t do anything about either goal and did everything else well.

Vladimir Coufal 7/10 – Kept Saka quiet throughout and put in some nice crosses into the Arsenal box.

Kurt Zouma 7/10 – The big Frenchman had a solid game at the back and enjoyed the battle with Gabriel Jesus.

Thilo Kehrer 6/10 – Looked shaky early on but put the ball back into the danger zone for the West Ham equaliser.

Aaron Cresswell 5/10 – Was at fault for the second Arsenal goal and struggled against Martinelli at times.

Tomas Soucek 6/10 – Didn’t do much wrong and was a handful in both boxes.

Declan Rice 8/10 – Had a fantastic game in midfield and was responsible for getting his team back in the game when he forced an error from Thomas Partey near his own goal which led to the penalty.

Lucas Paqueta 7/10 – Played some nice passes through to Antonio and Bowen and helped West Ham get a grip of the midfield.

Jarrod Bowen 8/10 – Nice finish on the volley for the equaliser and was a threat throughout. Had a great battle with Tierney down the right-hand side.

Said Benhrahma 6/10 – Took his penalty well but wasn’t really in the game.

Michail Antonio 7/10 – Battled hard and had the beating of Rob Holding. Could have won it near the end but he saw his back-post header glance off the post.

Substitutes

Maxwel Cornet 6/10 – Came on late and worked hard up front.

Flynn Downes 6/10 – Came on late and put in a shift in midfield.

Pablo Fornals 6/10 – Came on too late to have an impact.

Arsenal Player Ratings

Aaron Ramsdale 5/10 – He’s been in excellent form of late but should have done better with Bowen’s equaliser.

Ben White 7/10 – Did well against Benrahma at the back and put the ball across for Jesus’ opener. Looks a natural right-back.

Gabriel 5/10 – Was clumsy at times and went to ground needlessly to give West Ham a route back into the game when he brought down Paqueta in the penalty box.

Rob Holding 4/10 – The drop from Saliba to Holding is very noticeable in almost every way. He doesn’t look assured on the ball and he was bullied by Antonio.

Kieran Tierney 7/10 – Probably Arsenal’s best player on the day. He battled hard against Bowen and flashed a ball across the box at 2-2 that Jesus should have converted.

Thomas Partey 2/10 – His worst-ever performance in an Arsenal shirt. Couldn’t complete a pass and was extremely lazy in and out of possession.

Granit Xhaka 5/10 – He was better than his midfield partner but still failed to stamp his authority on the match. Both him and Partey lost the midfield battle to Soucek and Rice.

Martin Ødegaard 4/10 – Started off well and took his goal nicely but went hiding when his team really needed him. Was hooked by Arteta for the final five minutes.

Bukayo Saka 2/10 – Struggled throughout against Coufal and failed to hit the target with his penalty. He’ll bounce back.

Gabriel Martinelli 5/10 – Started brightly, but he also went missing at 2-2. Was taken off for Nelson late on.

Gabriel Jesus 7/10 – Looked like Arsenal’s most likely route to a winner in the second half but was bizarrely taken off by Arteta after just 65 minutes.

Substitutes

Jorginho 6/10 – Helped to wrestle back control of the game for Arsenal but didn’t create much.

Leandro Trossard 6/10 – Worked hard without doing much.

Reiss Nelson 6/10 – Looked lively when he came on late, perhaps should have been brought on earlier.

Fábio Vieira 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Eddie Nketiah 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

West Ham vs Arsenal Match Summary and Highlights

After taking an early 2-0 lead, Arsenal looked in great shape to potentially make a dent into the goal-difference lead that Manchester City currently have on them. However, the Gunners seemed to go into their shells at 2-0 and allowed West Ham back into the game via some sloppy play from Thomas Partey in midfield.

The away side would have been disappointed to go in level at half-time but adamant not to let the ghosts of last week haunt them again. And when Saka stepped up to take a penalty at the start of the second half, it looked as if they would reinstate their two-goal advantage and win the match. However, the 21-year-old missed the target and three minutes later West Ham were level via Jarrod Bowen.

Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table is now just four points while West Ham have moved four points clear of 18th at the other end of the table.

Player Of The Match: Declan Rice

Declan Rice is our player of the match due to the fact that the midfielder did something that no one else on the pitch was prepared to do fo their respective teams – get the game by the scruff of the neck and force something to happen.

The pressure he applied to Partey throughout caused the Ghanaian to have his worst game in an Arsenal shirt and after the game went to 2-1, Rice bossed the midfield. The England midfielder has been linked with a move to Arsenal this summer and he will have certainly impressed Arteta with his display.

For now, at least, David Moyes will hope that he can have this version of Rice for the final eight games of the season as West Ham battle to stay in the Premier League. Next up, they travel to Bournemouth in what looks set to be a relegation six-pointer.

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