Arsenal came from 3-0 down to claim a 3-3 draw at West Ham
on Sunday, but a share of the points from a thrilling encounter did little for
either side’s hopes of a top-four Premier League finish.
A blistering start from the Hammers had them three goals up
inside 32 minutes thanks to goals from Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas
Soucek.
But own goals from Soucek and Craig Dawson cut Arsenal’s
deficit before Alexandre Lacazette’s header rescued a point eight minutes from
time.
West Ham remain in fifth, but are two points adrift of
fourth-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal’s realistic hopes of Champions League football next
season now hinge on success in the Europa League as they are nine points adrift
of the top four down in ninth.
Mikel Arteta’s men suffered a hangover from their European
exertions in midweek as they progressed to the quarter-finals despite a 1-0
home defeat by Olympiakos.
West Ham took full advantage of a sluggish start from the
visitors.
Lingard was recalled to the England squad by Gareth
Southgate for his fine form since joining on loan from Manchester United in
January.
The midfielder smashed into the top corner from just outside
the box for his fifth goal in seven games for the Hammers.
Two minutes later, Lingard’s quick thinking created the
second for David Moyes’s men as his free-kick caught Arsenal napping and Bowen
beat Bernd Leno at his near post.
The Gunners were all over the place defensively in the
opening half-hour and were caught out again when Michail Antonio’s header was
deflected in by Soucek.
West Ham were cruising towards three points which would have
brought them level on points with Chelsea at that stage.
However, Arsenal awakened from their slumber before the
break.
Soucek was credited with a deflected goal at both ends as
Lacazette’s fierce strike flicked off the Czech and high beyond former Arsenal
goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Bukayo Saka then fired too close to the Polish international
moments later with the chance to pull back another goal.
Instead, it was another West Ham mistake which got Arsenal
right back in the game just after the hour mark as Dawson diverted Calum
Chambers’s driven cross into his own net.
The home side were penned back inside their own box for much
of the second period, but still had two clear chances to seal victory on the
break.
Kieran Tierney made two brilliant blocks to deny Bowen and
Antonio before Antonio hit the post form point-blank range as he stretched to
reach Said Benrahma’s cross.
A week on from being dropped for ill discipline prior to the
north London derby, Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was hauled off by
Arteta 10 minutes from time as he chased an equaliser.
But Aubameyang was still making his way back to the bench
when Lacazette headed home another brilliant cross from the Arsenal right, this
time by Nicolas Pepe.
West Ham had come from 3-0 down to claim a point themselves
earlier this season at Tottenham.
But it could have been even worse for the hosts as Pepe
fired meekly into the arms of Fabianski with the chance to complete a stunning
comeback in the dying moments.
AFP
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com