FA PREMIER LEAGUE 

ARSENAL 0

WEST HAM 2 (Soucek 13, Mavropanos 55)

IF Mikel Arteta was questioning the need for a big money striker signing this January transfer window, this game should have made up his mind.

The Gunners attacked relentlessly against a resilient West Ham and amassed 30 shots – with eight on target.

There were 77 touches in the box – a record in the Premier League.

But what the stats do not show is how almost every effort was scuffed harmlessly down the middle of the goal, or ballooned over.

This result had been a long time coming with many Arsenal games this season playing out in this way.

Amazingly for a team at the top of the league, there has been a serious lack of confidence from the attacking players in front of goal.

This time there was no last minute heroics to gloss over the need for a clinical front man to finish off what exceptional build up play.

Asked about the shooting failures after the match, manager Mikel Arteta said: “If we don’t score goals with 30 shots we have to make 50 or 60. I cannot imagine a game when you have more dominance and don’t score.”

“It’s a very disappointing night.”

It is not just a case of too much brandy butter and eggnog this Christmas for the title-chasers who were undone by the stubborn and well organised east Londoners.

Tomas Soucek scored after a terrible blunder by the celebrated Gabriel and William Saliba who failed to deal with a basic cross across the face.

There was a very long VAR check over whether the ball had gone out of play – but despite replays appearing to show the ball had left the pitch the goal was given.

Arteta said it was “a shame” the tech could not be certain one way or another, reflecting: “What we have to do without that is to win the game.”

The second was an unstoppable header crashed in off the crossbar by a former Arsenal defender – an Arsene Wenger signing from 2018 – Konstantinos Mavropanos.

It came from a corner won after a dangerous counter attack, a feature of the match with Arsenal spending most of the game camped outside the West Ham box.

The home side had 74 per cent possession but no points in the final game of 2023.

Captain Martin Odegaard had one of his best games for weeks with some top level touches and precise passing in and around the box.

He was the driving force behind almost all of the meaningful attacks.

Bukayo Saka almost got an equaliser in the first half with a bullet header that was saved after a superb passing move sliced apart the defence.

He later smashed the base of the post , and Leandro Trossard could not quite turn in the rebound.

It felt as if an equaliser might have led to three or four goals for Arsenal.

But as the game wore on the frustration built and defeat looked all but certain.

So much of the play came down the right side that Gabriel Martinelli was almost a bystander in the first half.

His confidence looks shattered after a long goal drought and string of frustrating performances.

Once again he showed some neat control, but no final ball.  His touch let him down in the box in the middle of a crucial one-two.

But his obvious replacement Trossard also seems to have lost his magic touch.

He fired over in the first half – another example of the kind of profligacy that comes from a team lacking in confidence.

Jesus played a decent game but also was guilty of terrible shooting.

His worst effort was a back post header that was almost an open goal that sailed over.

To cap of a terrible night, Declan Rice gave away a penalty.

The West Ham fans had been singing ‘you should have signed for a big club’ just before he brought down his former teammate.

David Raya saved the penalty but it was all academic and the final whistle blew moments after.

Arsenal: Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, White, Zinchenko (Nelson 70), Rice, Trossard (Rowe 78), Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli (Nketiah 70), Jesus
Subs not used:  Ramsdale, Kiwior, Soares, Jorginho, Elneny, Nwaneri

West Ham: Aerola, Coufal, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta (Benrahma 35), Kudus, Mavropanos, Alvarez, Bowen, Ogbonna, Soucek, Emerson
Subs not used: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Fornals, Cornet, Ings, Kehrer, Mubama.