We bring the player ratings as Arsenal demolished West Ham United 6-0 away from home last weekend. Declan Rice and co were visiting the London Stadium with a point to prove after having lost 0-2 to the same side at home in the reverse fixture.
Rice was returning to West Ham for the first time since his high-profile record-breaking transfer to Arsenal. And even though the Englishman had led the Hammers to their first and only European silverware in their history, he was booed every time he touched the ball.
After a good effort from Leandro Trossard, Rice proved the jeering didn’t affect him, providing an assist to William Saliba’s lovely header from a corner. Only a few minutes later, the Gunners struck again as Bukayo Saka was taken down by the Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola in the penalty area. Saka calmly dispatched the ball into the back of the net.
After winning a freekick in a dangerous position, Declan Rice assisted another goal, this time a Gabriel special. But the carnage didn’t stop there, as Trossard curled the ball right into the top corner from the edge of the box on the brink of halftime. This caused many of the home fans to leave the stadium.
Not long into the second half, the North London side found an opening inside the box and Saka took aim, only for Areola to stop him. It didn’t matter though as less than 10 minutes later, the English winger executed a beautiful bottom-corner finish.
To top off a spectacular performance, Declan Rice was once again involved in another goal for the visitors, this time striking the ball himself. He scored a splendid goal from outside the penalty area, but showed class to not celebrate against his old team. Not long after, he walked off seemingly in pain.
A triple substitution occurred with Saka, Trossard and Rice coming off for Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny respectively. The rest of the second half was quite tame as the North Londoners fully controlled possession and passed the ball back and forth, till the closing of the match.
Player Ratings
David Raya – 7/10: Was not tested too much, collected the ball when it needed to be collected. Solid distribution. Claimed every cross that came in and kept a clean sheet.
Ben White – 8/10: Firm defending, joining the final third at times to help out with attacks and give Saka an option. Did a lovely job setting up some goals and a great assist.
William Saliba – 8/10: Very good defensively, but also very good on the other side of the pitch scoring a great header off a corner.
Garbriel Magalhaes – 8/10: Solid clearances, great defending this game, and a lovely header from Declan Rice’s ball in.
Jakub Kiwior – 7/10: Looked a bit shaky, made some defensive errors that could have led to goals. After a bit, he seemed to have found his feet, a good fill in for the injured Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Martin Ødegaard – 9/10: Lovely to watch as always, played some great balls through. Had a shot that would have gone in if it wasn’t blocked. Great assists to Trossard and Saka.
Declan Rice – 9/10: Had a lovely game against his old team, played some great crosses into the box, including the corners for Saliba’s and Gabriel’s respective goals.
Leandro Trossard – 8/10: Had a great shot on goal in the early stages of the West Ham vs Arsenal game, which was saved by Areola, but made up for it with a lovely top bins goal.
Bukayo Saka – 9.9/10: Saka’s best game of the season. Unlucky to not score from a run of play early on, but great conversion for his 50th goal. Followed up with another lovely goal.
Kai Havertz – 7/10: It felt like Havertz was playing more of a false 9 than a centre-forward role. Solid player, didn’t have to do too much.
Gabriel Martinelli – 7/10: Mellow game for him, made some good runs down the wing. Switched over to the right when he needed to, gave some crosses, and had plenty of touches in the opposition box.
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Substitutes:
Eddie Nketiah – 6/10: A good opportunity with a good shot, unlucky that it was saved. A few touches inside the West Ham box, could have scored one if he had backed himself.
Mohamed Elneny – 6/10: Had a shot on goal that was easily collected by Areola. Another shot saw the ball fly just over the bar. Some good passes.
Cedric Soares – NA
Ethan Nwaneri – NA
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