
In an impressive night of football, Arsenal dominated and defeated 10-man West Ham at the Emirates.
The Gunners were superior from start to finish as they put West Ham to the sword, winning 2-0 to go fourth in the Premier League.
Here’s how the players rated at the Emirates Stadium:
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale – 7 – Really solid coping with whatever was thrown at him, including a couple of spicy backpasses.
Aaron Ramsdale has now kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season (8 in 14 games) than Édouard Mendy (7 in 15 games).
Only those two Brazilians have more. ? pic.twitter.com/mRdBe4utXo
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 15, 2021
Takehiro Tomiyasu – 7 – Defended his flank tenaciously.
Ben White – 7 – Rock solid at the back. Refused to allow West Ham any space around him.
Gabriel – 7 – Really impressive again. Completely shut down West Ham’s attacks and really handled the threat of Michail Antonio.
Kieran Tierney – 7 – Not quite at his flying best but still a constant menace in attack.
Thomas Partey – 6 – Wasn’t quite as silky as his team-mates but did well.
Granit Xhaka – 6 – Kept things ticking over without being really impressive.
Martin Odegaard – 7 – Fantastic yet again, linking play and causing danger.
Bukayo Saka – 8 – Tortured Arthur Masuaku all night long. Oozing confidence and skill right now and was a creative hub for the Gunners. Stretched, slammed and suffocated West Ham all night.
16 of Arsenal's 23 Premier League goals this season have been scored by players aged 23-and-under:
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Emile Smith Rowe
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Martin Ødegaard
⚽️⚽️ Gabriel Magalhães
⚽️⚽️ Gabriel Martinelli
⚽️⚽️ Bukayo SakaYoung Guns. pic.twitter.com/JZqWUKY3kC
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 15, 2021
Gabriel Martinelli – 8 – Sensational goal to open the scoring. Burst away from the West Ham defence with speed and finished calmly. Was a positive presence all night and looks an essential inclusion in the starting XI for the vertical depth he offers.
Alexandre Lacazette – 8 – This was 99% of a really impressive display. Led Arsenal’s press all night long and provided a supreme assist for Arsenal’s opener. Of course he also missed the penalty that should have made it 2-0, albeit he did win it with a spectacular dive. Never stopped running, never stopped pressing. No Pierre, no problem? Lacazette is the man Arsenal need up-front.
Substitutes:
Emile Smith Rowe (for Odegaard 66′) – 7 – Scored a lovely goal to put Arsenal 2-0 up and seal victory.
Emile Smith Rowe has now scored six Premier League goals this season, more than any other Arsenal player and Jamie Vardy (9) is the only English player with more.
ESR at the Emirates again. ✨ pic.twitter.com/viNdbu7AdL
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 15, 2021
Eddie Nketiah (for Martinelli 82′) – n/a – Came on late.
Nuno Tavares (for Lacazette 88′) – n/a – Came on late.
West Ham
Lukasz Fabianski – 7 – Made several stunning saves, including a super save from Lacazette’s penalty, to keep Arsenal at bay.
Vladimir Coufal – 6 – Couldn’t keep up with Gabriel Martinelli all night, and while his red card was harsh he didn’t play well besides that.
Craig Dawson – 8 – An absolutel heroic display at the heart of the West Ham defence, blocking countless shots with well-timed interventions. Did his very best to keep Arsenal out but in the end it wasn’t enough.
Issa Diop – 7 – He’s no Kurt Zouma, but tonight he put in an impressive display, including a massive block from Saka.
Arthur Masuaku – 7 – He did work defensively, including a game-high 7 tackles and 4 interceptions. But he was so poor in attack and Arsenal really missed having Aaron Cresswell at the back to negotiate the Arsenal press.
Tomas Soucek – 7 – Defended solidly enough with a game-high 7 clearances but wasn’t enough of a force in attack.
Declan Rice – 6 – Was subdued in attack but defended decently enough.
David Moyes is the fourth manager in Premier League history to take charge of 600 games…
…not one of them has been an away win against Arsenal. ? https://t.co/ykcaqQxH7B
— Squawka (@Squawka) December 15, 2021
Jarrod Bowen – 4 – Could not get going at all. Everything he tried failed to come off.
Pablo Fornals – 4 – Really poor. Didn’t generate anything of note when West Ham needed him to.
Manuel Lanzini – 5 – Probably West Ham’s best attacker but that wasn’t saying much.
Michail Antonio – 4 – Woefully out of sorts. Was not even a little bit of a threat.
Substitutes:
Said Benrahma (for Lanzini 76′) – 5 – Looked a bit more lively than his team-mates but still couldn’t impact the game.
Harrison Ashby (for Fornals 84′) – n/a – Came on late.

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