David Moyes can be proud of how his players fought back. Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
The London stadium turned its back on its team before and after 32 minutes of soft and spineless West Ham United football, it looked like it would turn on them again. Home supporters grumbled when Gabriel Jesus scored a goal for Arsenal seven minutes later, and they began to boil when Martin Odegaard doubled the lead seconds later.
As Thomas Partey strolled through West Ham's midfield shortly afterwards, the atmosphere threatened to turn into all-out fury. Soon there were shouts, and they rained down on David Moyes like hail. A manager with nowhere to hide, subject to the fury of his own fans as he stands all alone in the Premier League's biggest dugout.
Was it the end? At least that thought must have crossed the mind of a Scot. Perhaps at that moment it even dominated his thinking. In recent months, Moyes has clung to his job, but he knew there would only be one outcome after another hard, humiliating loss at home. “When we lost 2-0, I have to say that I thought:“ Oh my God … ”he admitted afterwards.
But with one burst of speed by Declan Rice, a mistake by Partey and Following a penalty by Said Benrahma“ West Ham came back to life. Out of nowhere, the game has changed. Just like the mood in east London, where despair turned into desire, and desire then turned into faith. Nine minutes after the restart, West Ham equalized.
For Moyes, who has spent most of 2023 on the brink, this fighting draw will bring respite. Few expect him to stay at the club beyond this summer, but he can certainly be counted on to remain in office for at least next week and therefore be in the dugout ahead of the Europa Conference League quarter-finals against » Ghent on Thursday. .
How did they turn it around? At times in the second half it felt like they had turned back the clock. It was West Ham for the past two seasons, playing aggressive and intense football in front of their fans. One of the greatest achievements under Moyes was the weaponization of a previously modest London stadium, and here the stands were heaving again with that passion.
“We have stumped them,” Moyes said. “We looked a little faster all over the field. We quickly ran to the people. We started pushing the ball a little harder.»
David Moyes: West Ham United had a great game against Arsenal
Rice, as always, has been a driving force in midfield — against a club he could have joined this summer. Equally important, however, was the role played by strikers Michael Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, who ran behind Arsenal's defense and stretched the game with the same relentlessness that defined their campaign last year.
That kind of energy and intensity has often been lacking in West Ham's attack this season, so there have been times when it felt like a bit of a game in the past. After being so open in the first half hour, their midfielders found the energy they needed to close gaps and disrupt Arsenal's passing.
“We should have tried to put Arsenal in a more uncomfortable position for them,” Moyes said. “Probably, we got more ball behind the back of the opponent than in the whole season. Maybe we've done it in the past and we haven't done it as often [this year].»
Life at West Ham is rarely easy and that's an indication of the strangeness of their season that Moyes has yet to could end the campaign with a European trophy in hand. If they play like this against Gent on Thursday, they will have too much for the Belgian team. From there, they are only three matches to glory.
Truly, this is the tightrope of the campaign. And for 30 agonizing minutes here, it looked like the staggering Moyes was about to fall. Instead, he stood to his full height as the dark clouds began to gather, and his players achieved a level of play that many fans would consider beyond their abilities.
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