Arsenal player ratings: Reiss Nelson rare bright spark in West Ham humbling as Ben White struggles in East London
ARSENAL crashed out of the Carabao Cup as West Ham beat them 3-1 in the fourth round at the London Stadium.
The Hammers took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Jarrod Bowen‘s corner was headed into his own net by Ben White.
Mikel Arteta‘s men probed for an equaliser but had little to show in the way of clear-cut chances.
Mohammed Kudus doubled the hosts’ advantage five minutes after the break when he expertly controlled Nayef Aguerd’s pass and struck a low effort into the far corner.
And Bowen put the game to bed on the hour, lashing a deflected effort through the hands of Aaron Ramsdale, before Martin Odegaard added a late consolation.
Here is how SunSport’s Dylan Terry saw the performances of the Arsenal players.
AARON RAMSDALE – 6
Showcased his distribution early on with a perfect 60-yard pass to Kai Havertz.
Had a right to feel aggrieved about the goal as it seemed he was fouled by Tomas Soucek.
Made an excellent save to deny Bowen a second, but then made a complete mess of the Englishman’s strike as West Ham went 3-0 up.
BEN WHITE – 4
Headed into his own net to give West Ham the lead – a moment he will certainly want to forget.
Made a goal-saving clearance after Ramsdale’s stop at the start of the second half, but largely struggled to contain Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma.
GABRIEL – 6
Did brilliantly to deny Kudus at the back post with a crucial headed clearance.
But Bowen ran the entire Arsenal back four ragged all evening as they failed to keep tabs on the West Ham man.
JAKUB KIWIOR – 6
Looked solid enough at the back, although Bowen’s pace did cause him problems at times.
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO – 6
Gave West Ham some tactical issues to sort out when coming into midfield, although Edson Alvarez dealt with him impressively.
Left too much space for Kudus’ goal as he failed to get tight to his man and paid the price.
JORGINHO – 4
Struggled to cope with the pace and power of Paqueta, as well as Bowen’s movement in between the lines.
A clear drop off in quality to Declan Rice. Will be a worry for Mikel Arteta moving forward.
FABIO VIEIRA – 5
A big opportunity to show what he can offer but demonstrated very little in the way of creativity.
Was visibly distraught during the second half amid frustrations at not receiving the ball.
Only consolation was that he got to the ball before Paqueta when the West Ham man attempted a rainbow flick.
KAI HAVERTZ – 5
Went close with a header in the first half, only to be denied by Lukasz Fabianski.
Yet again though, he seems to float through games as an invisible passenger.
REISS NELSON – 6
Showed glimpses of his pace and skill early on, although the final pass was lacking.
Was Arsenal’s brightest attacking threat, but that isn’t saying a great deal on a nightmare evening for the visitors.
Can count himself unlucky that he was taken off for Bukayo Saka in the second half.
EDDIE NKETIAH – 5
Missed a good opportunity from six yards out, snatching at the opportunity and lashing over.
A shadow of the player that scored his first Arsenal hat-trick at the weekend.
LEANDRO TROSSARD – 5
Arsenal experienced very little joy down the left as a frustrated Leandro Trossard came inside to look for the ball.
Deservedly taken off midway through the second period.
SUBS
DECLAN RICE (FOR JORGINHO, 57) – 6
Definitely improved Arsenal’s midfield when he was introduced and performed to a decent level given the abuse he was getting from certain sections of the crowd.
A couple of passes went astray in the closing minutes when the game had already gone.
TAKEHIRO TOMIYASU (FOR ZINCHENKO, 57) – 6
Largely kept Kudus quiet for the last half an hour.
Could not offer what Zinchenko does in the midfield.
BUKAYO SAKA (FOR NELSON, 66) – 6
Came on with Arsenal already 3-0 down and did little to change the tempo of the game.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI (FOR TROSSARD, 66) – 5
Vladimir Coufal rendered the Brazilian almost entirely ineffective.
MARTIN ODEGAARD (FOR NKETIAH, 80) – 7
Scored a late consolation and showed his class with a couple of neat passes.
Unused subs: Hein, Saliba, Cedric, Elneny.