23 | February | 2025

Archive for February 23, 2025

Arsenal 0 West Ham 1

***Graham Potter has won four of his five matches at the Emirates with three different clubs*. *Arsenal had not lost a single Premier League match at home so far this season.***

I wrote in a comment on a website before the game: “Expecting a defeat, but who knows? Stranger things have happened than kick-starting a so far below-par season at Arsenal! Don’t forget, West Ham have been the first team to beat the Gunners at their new home back in 2006 (and they‘ve been the last team to beat them at Highbury, too)…”

And really – it did happen! Arsenal was beaten again by West Ham at the Emirates. The Gunners lost the second home game against the Hammers in a row (December 2023 and now February 2025).

The defeat ended a run of 15 unbeaten matches in the Premier League for the Gunners. “Days after the title race had flickered back to life (with leaders Liverpool drawing at Everton and Aston Villa), West Ham United arrived at the Emirates Stadium and poured a bucket of cold water over the whole thing”, Sam Dean wrote in The Telegraph. Arsenal had ambitions of closing the gap at the top to five points but they failed to grasp the opportunity in their hands.

West Ham looked more comfortable throughout the game and took the lead after 44 minutes when Wan-Bissaka galloped down the right wing before producing the perfect cross for Jarrod Bowen. Declan Rice could not get to the ball in the box and Bowen headed it into the back of the net.

Especially impressive for West Ham was young Ollie Scarles, playing at left wing-back at the age of 19. Scarles went head-to-head with Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri in the battle of promising teenagers and mostly came out on top. “Some performance,” said manager Graham Potter of Scarles. “There is a lot to look forward to.”

For the West Ham supporters, this was unquestionably one of the most enjoyable days of their campaign. Not only did they see a victory for Graham Potter’s side and young Ollie Scarles put in a flawless performance, but they also watched Declan Rice – their former hero – be removed from the action before even an hour had passed. “You should have signed for a big club,” they sneered.