West Ham’s £85k-p/w Star Almost Cost Moyes vs Arsenal
West Ham United gave their survival hopes a big boost as they fought back from 2-0 down to earn a draw against league leaders Arsenal.
What happened in West Ham vs Arsenal?
Things could not have gotten off to a much worse start for the Hammers as they found themselves 1-0 down within six minutes when Ben White crossed for Gabriel Jesus to tap in, before Martin Odegaard made it 2-0 with less than ten minutes on the clock, volleying in Gabriel Martinelli's cross.
At that point, it seemed as if David Moyes' side could easily be overwhelmed by the Gunners but a mistake allowed the home side back into the game, with Said Benrahma converting a penalty after Lucas Paqueta was felled by Gabriel.
Bukayo Saka had a golden chance to restore Arsenal's two-goal lead when Michail Antonio handballed but he put his penalty well wide, and it was 2-2 minutes later thanks to Jarrod Bowen's well-taken volley.
The Jamaica international had a chance to make amends late on but headed Benrahma's superb cross against the crossbar, with both sides forced to settle for a point.
Who was West Ham's worst performer vs Arsenal?
Although fans may leave the London Stadium happy after a spirited second-half display, there were still a number of disappointing performances on Sunday afternoon.
As per Sofascore, Antonio was perhaps harshly the worst-rated West Ham player on the pitch with a shocking 6.2/10 rating, with only Thomas Partey (6.1) rated lower of every player to feature in the game.
Although his dogged determination often saw him get the better of Rob Holding, notably forcing the defender to bring him down for a free-kick on the edge of the box in the first half, there were several moments in which he nearly cost Moyes.
During his 87 minutes on the pitch, the experienced £85k-per-week forward managed just 30 touches and a disappointing eight passes, which was the fewest of any player to start the game, including Lukasz Fabianski, who managed nine.
Tomas Soucek has been the man who has been lamented recently for his lack of involvement from midfield and today the Czech Republic international managed just 21 touches and ten passes, which suggests that he deserves equal criticism for another almost anonymous display.
Despite seeing so little of the ball, the former Nottingham Forest man still managed to lose possession on ten occasions and gave away the penalty which could have easily cost West Ham a share of the points had Saka not fluffed his lines.
The 33-year-old perhaps should have ensured that the Hammers would take all three points when he headed against the bar from close range too, with the striker once again proving that he cannot be relied upon as a consistent option in the attack.
Antonio, who was dubbed "not good enough" by Glen Johnson earlier in the season, has managed just three Premier League goals so far this campaign, and was fortunate today that his poor performance didn't cost Moyes a point.