Arteta takes blame as Arsenal knocked out of EFL Cup

6 months ago 124
Ben White scores an own goal to make it West Ham 1-0 ArsenalBen White scored the second own goal of his professional career to hand West Ham the lead against Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said "I'm disappointed with myself" after his side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round following a 3-1 defeat by West Ham.

Arteta made six changes to his starting XI, with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Odegaard on the bench.

The Arsenal side selected produced a below-par display - for which Arteta took the blame.

"I'm very disappointed. I'm responsible for that," he said.

"We're out of the Cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete.

"The game took a direction because of the first goal but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win.

"I'm disappointed with myself. We wanted to play in a different way and we weren't able to do that. Every time we lose the pain is there.

"We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle [in the Premier League] on Saturday."

Below-par Arsenal dumped out

West Ham took the lead via an own goal in the 16th minute, with Jarrod Bowen swinging a corner in close to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, before Ben White nodded it past him.

Tomas Soucek had hold of Ramsdale's shirt, but with no VAR at this stage of the League Cup, the complaints of the England international - making his first club appearance since 27 September in the previous round - fell on deaf ears.

Arsenal dominated possession but failed to break through, and they were punished five minutes after the break when Mohammed Kudus beautifully trapped Nayef Aguerd's 50-yard cross-field pass before finishing low through the legs of Gabriel.

West Ham's win was safe shortly before the hour when Bowen collected a poor defensive header from White and fired in a volley from the edge of the area, a deflection off Gabriel's thigh wrongfooting Ramsdale.

Odegaard slotted into the bottom corner with the final kick of the game, but the Gunners' 30-year wait to win the League Cup goes on, while West Ham are into the quarter-finals for the third successive season.

No joy for Rice on West Ham return

The major talking point in the build-up was the return of Rice to West Ham for the first time since joining Arsenal for £105 million in the summer.

Rice made almost 250 appearances for West Ham and captained them to a Europa Conference League triumph in June, and manager David Moyes called for the ex-Hammers midfielder to be "welcomed back with open arms".

That call was mostly heeded by the home fans, who gave Rice a strong ovation when he warmed up for the first time midway through the first half.

By that point his new club were already trailing and while Arsenal had started well - West Ham did not have a shot in the first half, despite taking the lead - they produced little end product.

Rice was sent on from the stacked bench after the second goal to a heady mix of boos and applause, with whistles of derision when his first ball forward was overhit for a goal kick.

Shortly after that Arsenal went 3-0 down, and not even the arrivals of Saka, Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli could keep their cup campaign alive.

West Ham, meanwhile, were much improved from the side that lost their three previous matches, and had been labelled a "shambles" by their own forward, Michail Antonio.

Bowen told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We had to fight, we knew we were playing a top side but it was a really good performance compared to the last few [games].

"We have not been at the level, but we were always going to bounce back and tonight was the perfect way to do it."

Line-ups

West Ham

Formation 4-2-3-1

1Fabianski5Coufal15Mavropanos27Aguerd33Emerson28Soucek19Álvarez14KudusSubstituted forKehrerat 89'minutes10Lucas Paquetá22BenrahmaSubstituted forWard-Prowseat 81'minutes20Bowen

Substitutes

3Cresswell7Ward-Prowse8Fornals9Antonio17Cornet18Ings21Ogbonna23Areola24Kehrer

Arsenal

Formation 4-3-3

1Ramsdale4White15Kiwior6Gabriel35ZinchenkoSubstituted forTomiyasuat 57'minutes21Fábio Vieira20JorginhoSubstituted forRiceat 57'minutes29Havertz24NelsonSubstituted forSakaat 66'minutes14NketiahSubstituted forØdegaardat 80'minutes19TrossardSubstituted forMartinelliat 66'minutes

Substitutes

2Saliba7Saka8Ødegaard11Martinelli17Cédric Soares18Tomiyasu25Elneny31Hein41Rice

Live Text

Match ends, West Ham United 3, Arsenal 1.

Second Half ends, West Ham United 3, Arsenal 1.

Goal! West Ham United 3, Arsenal 1. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Fábio Vieira.

Attempt blocked. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Fábio Vieira (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Edson Álvarez (West Ham United).

Foul by Fábio Vieira (Arsenal).

Tomás Soucek (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution, West Ham United. Thilo Kehrer replaces Mohammed Kudus.

Offside, West Ham United. Mohammed Kudus tries a through ball, but James Ward-Prowse is caught offside.

Attempt saved. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Bukayo Saka.

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Emerson.

Fábio Vieira (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United).

Substitution, West Ham United. James Ward-Prowse replaces Saïd Benrahma.

Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Gabriel Magalhães.

Attempt blocked. Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Emerson.

Substitution, Arsenal. Martin Ødegaard replaces Eddie Nketiah.

Attempt missed. Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.

Attempt blocked. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Fábio Vieira.

Player of the match

BowenJarrod Bowen

with an average of 8.04

West Ham United

Squad number20Player nameBowen

Squad number14Player nameKudus

Squad number10Player nameLucas Paquetá

Squad number7Player nameWard-Prowse

Squad number19Player nameÁlvarez

Squad number27Player nameAguerd

Squad number33Player nameEmerson

Squad number28Player nameSoucek

Squad number5Player nameCoufal

Squad number22Player nameBenrahma

Squad number24Player nameKehrer

Squad number15Player nameMavropanos

Squad number1Player nameFabianski

Arsenal

Squad number1Player nameRamsdale

Squad number8Player nameØdegaard

Squad number19Player nameTrossard

Squad number24Player nameNelson

Squad number41Player nameRice

Squad number14Player nameNketiah

Squad number6Player nameGabriel Magalhães

Squad number15Player nameKiwior

Squad number7Player nameSaka

Squad number4Player nameWhite

Squad number11Player nameGabriel Martinelli

Squad number18Player nameTomiyasu

Squad number35Player nameZinchenko

Squad number21Player nameFábio Vieira

Squad number20Player nameJorginho

Squad number29Player nameHavertz

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