West Ham and Arsenal.
West Ham and Arsenal.
Aheed Abrar
Mon 2 December 2024 11:40, UK
Adrian Durham hit out at the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after failing to penalise an incident when Arsenal scored their first goal against West Ham United.
The broadcaster was speaking on talkSPORT [1 December] after the Hammers lost 5-2 at home to Mikel Arteta’s team on 30 November, with the Gunners opening the scoring from a set piece.
Gabriel Magalhaes directed a corner into the back of the net in the 10th minute, but before doing so, Jurrien Timber was seen bumping into Lucas Paqueta, who then missed the ball at the near post.
Durham was baffled by the VAR’s decision not to award a foul, saying: “The first goal from the corner, there’s a big foul at the front post. Jurrien Timber just goes into the back of somebody, and it’s completely missed.
“I don’t think the goal happens. The ball gets headed away unless, I think it was Paqueta, is pushed in the back. So I can’t understand.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
“When they’re going into minute details that are possibly wrong in Southampton to disallow a winning goal, and then they can’t see a barge in the back that allows Arsenal to score their first goal, I do wonder what’s going on with VAR.”
West Ham United can’t blame VAR for Arsenal loss
The Hammers can’t complain about their loss to the North London outfit, with some sloppy defending on show from Julen Lopetegui’s team.
While the Irons can be forgiven for conceding the first goal, the strikes that followed highlighted the ineptitude of their backline.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Emerson Palmieri did attempt to stage a comeback, but Bukayo Saka quelled those attempts with his penalty just before the break.
Lopetegui needs to take some of the blame, and it only reflects poorly on the Spaniard, as West Ham conceded five times in just the first half.
Julen Lopetegui
West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui. [Credit: Imago]
The former Wolves manager’s squad was bolstered in the summer with impressive additions to the defence, including Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.
The duo have been preferred as the first-choice partnership at the back by Lopetegui in recent weeks, but it feels like Konstantinos Mavropanos needs to be brought back into the starting lineup.
St James’ Park witnessed the Irons’ best performance of the campaign as they beat Newcastle 2-0 on 25 November, taking some of the pressure off of the Spanish head coach.
The London Stadium faithful were obviously hoping for the Hammers to continue putting in similar displays, but it looks like that was just a one-off from Lopetegui’s team.
In other West Ham news, Alan Pardew was left hurting after what he heard as the Irons’ lost to Arsenal.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsAppchannelfor instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.
Related Posts