West Ham v. Arsenal- Three things we learnt

There seemed to be no coming back for the Hammers after Alexis Sanchez scored in the 35th minute to put Arsenal two goals ahead. But if this season has showed us anything it’s that you can not rule anything out until the whistle blows at full-time. This game was no different. In one of the best games of the Premier League season, the Hammers managed to come from two goals down to draw 3-3 and keep their battle for the top four alive. Here are three things we learnt from the game…

Referees still don’t seem to like West Ham

In my preview for this game I questioned whether a refereeing decision would cost us again after the games against Manchester United and Chelsea (amongst others). I hoped that this was just a spell of bad luck and that decisions would soon start to go our way but this game showed otherwise. In the 14th minute of the game Manuel Lanzini opened up the scoring for West Ham with a header at the far post but this ended up being ruled out for offside. Having seen the replays it was clear that Lanzini was miles onside with Hector Bellerin playing him on. Four minutes later, Mesut Özil opened up the scoring. Now this is the 5th successive game where a refereeing decision has had a major impact on the outcome of the game.

Had Lanzini’s goal stood, we may not have gone 0-2 down and ended up drawing the game. This would have allowed more space to open up with Arsenal having to attack, maybe allowing us to win the game. But the goal was wrongfully ruled offside and once again, a key decision went against West Ham.

Our defensive frailties

Yes, this was one of the games of the season. Yes, it was exciting, thrilling and unpredictable. But it was also a very poor defensive display by West Ham, especially in the first half. The Cheikhou Kouyate - Mark Noble midfield was exposed early on with Özil and Alex Iwobi finding plenty of space in the final third. There was nobody applying pressure to Francis Coquelin when he received the ball which allowed him to pick out any pass he wanted. This simply can not happen in a game of this magnitude. The right side of our defensive was also poor with James Tomkins not having the best of games at RB. He didn’t know when he should come in and when he should stay out which allowed Arsenal to create numerous chances and ended up in us going 2-0 down.

With Carl Jenkinson back at Arsenal and it being very unlikely that he returns to West Ham, we need to sign a top quality right-back this summer to compete with Sam Byram. Today’s game showed that regardless of our attacking prowess, if our defence is not disciplined we can not achieve results.

Andy Carroll is still a big threat

The hat-trick hero. When the teams got announced it was clear that Arsenal would struggle to deal with our frontman. Arsenal aren’t the most physical team and have always struggled to deal with set-pieces but I don’t think anyone could have predicted what happened. There were calls for Carroll to be sent off in the 4th minute after a bad tackle on Laurent Koscielny but he managed to stay on the pitch and effectively end Arsenal’s title hopes. We all know that when a team plays around Carroll, he is one of the most devastating strikers in the league. With the crosses being poor early on in the game Carroll was relatively quiet. But Aaron Cresswell managed to deliver the perfect cross in the 35rd minute and once that ball was delivered, we all knew that Carroll would put the ball into the back of the net. Then came his second goal in the 47th minute and his hat-trick in the 52nd. Now Carroll hasn’t had the best of seasons at West Ham but we can’t deny that he has delivered crucial goals. Just ask Chelsea fans.

The idea of not playing tiki-taka football all the time may not be appealing to some, but all three of Carroll’s goals today did start with a cross. It’s clear that when you play to his strengths, more often than not, goals will come. He does offer something completely different to the current strikers in the England squad so the question is now on everyone’s lips. Should Carroll go to the Euros?

The last London derby at Upton Park was certainly one to remember.