LONDON • After all the fuss over Marko Arnautovic's future, the limelight belonged to a local lad who places his love of the game above the riches that are surely going to come his way.
The script seemed to demand an audacious performance from Arnautovic but instead the day belonged to Declan Rice, who sealed West Ham's 1-0 Premier League win over Arsenal with his first goal for the club.
The midfielder, who turns 20 tomorrow, also earned his side a deserved first home victory over the Gunners in 13 years after scoring in the 48th minute yesterday.
Unsurprisingly, he spoke excitedly about his "special moment" after the match, telling Sky Sports: "I can't put it into words. I was in the box, I took it on, it went in the top corner and we beat Arsenal."
He played like a seasoned professional against Arsenal, frustrating Unai Emery's side time and again with a series of well-timed interventions in defensive midfield, and displayed his outstanding technique when he settled a tight encounter with a fine shot.
"Declan Rice is improving. In the future he will be a top, top player," said West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini.
"I was pleased with the consistency of the team. We didn't allow Arsenal to create chances. We played with the mentality of a big team. We have to try to work and play in the same way all the time."
2
Points Arsenal have taken from their five-match winless run in the Premier League, with two draws and three losses.
Awkward financial realities dominated the conversation before the London derby.
While it was disconcerting for Arsenal's fans to hear Emery say he can only afford to make loan signings this month, West Ham have been confronted by Arnautovic's desire to accept a lucrative offer from an unidentified Chinese club.
Ever the showman, Arnautovic had bleached his hair for the occasion. Yet this was a subdued performance from the Austrian striker and the greater threat emanated from Emery's forwards during the early stages.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
YESTERDAY
Burnley 2 Fulham 1
Brighton 0 Liverpool 1
Cardiff 0 Huddersfield 0
Crystal Palace 1 Watford 2
Leicester 1 Southampton 2
West Ham 1 Arsenal 0
Chelsea v Newcastle, Late kick-offTODAY
Everton v Bournemouth, Ch102 & Ch227, 10.15pm
Tottenham v Man United, Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, tomorrow, 12.30amTOMORROW
Man City v Wolves, Ch102 & Ch227, Tuesday, 4am
But the visitors faded after a bright start and it was impossible not to feel that Arsenal have got themselves into an unenviable bind when it comes to their playmaker Mesut Ozil, who did not even merit a place on the bench.
Emery made his feelings clear about Ozil before kick-off, insisting that the German's absence from yet another awkward away assignment was a tactical decision, but it is an unsatisfactory situation from the club's perspective.
They are crying out for elite talents and their biggest earner, a player on £350,000 (S$608,000) a week, is not rated by his manager.
For all of Ozil's inconsistencies, the Gunners needed a player of his class and invention, as former Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri duly demonstrated.
The 31-year-old, rebuilding his career at West Ham after a doping ban, was at the heart of much of the Hammers' best work on his Premier League debut for the club.
It was the Frenchman's neat lay-off that allowed Rice the space to curl a superb shot past Bernd Leno.
Arsenal have now lost three of their last four away matches in the league and Emery admitted it is a worry, with sixth-placed Manchester United just three points behind before their match at Tottenham Hotspur today.
"It is a concern. We need to be competitive both home and away. Away, we are not taking the results we want," the Spaniard said.
"If we can be better in the 90 minutes - competitive and quality - we can do it."
THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS
That is part of football." File photo: Anfield stadium is home of Liverpool Football Club one of the most successful English Premier League football clubs. Image: shutterstock. Liverpool could end a 29-year wait for the league title if they can hold on until the end of the season and Klopp knows the club's fans are likely to be feeling tense.
Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under pressure
Manchester City were shocked 3-2 by Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, suffering their second defeat in three Premier League matches to lose ground on Liverpool in the title race.
Manchester City suffer shock 3-2 Premier League defeat by
Football: Female staff member of Hougang United charged with CBT over $278,000 clubhouse funds. Hougang United said the police report was made on the day of the incident in December 2018 and the
S$278,200 missing from Hougang United Football Club; employee
Lets his emotions run wild after stunning win. ePaper; These boys are giants, says Jurgen Klopp AFP Liverpool "We played against maybe the best team in world. I don't know how the boys
'These boys are giants': Klopp salutes Liverpool heroes
SINGAPORE — Newly-appointed Football Association of Singapore (FAS) technical director Joseph Palatsides believes that Singapore football is a sleeping giant, and the nation's culture of excellence needs to be infused into the sport's structure to revive its fortunes.
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides aims
Football: PSG coach Thomas Tuchel hits out at Neymar after
Paul Pogba's penalty run-up 'would not have happened' under Sir Alex Ferguson, says former Manchester United midfielder Kieran Richardson
Man Utd 2-1 West Ham: Paul Pogba scores two penalties in
Juventus, chasing an eighth successive Serie A title and still unbeaten, have 60 points from 22 games while Napoli have 51 after their 3-0 win over Sampdoria earlier on Saturday Juve went ahead in
Juve foiled by Gervinho brace after leading 3-1 - Football
Mohamed Salah completed a memorable day for Egyptian football by retaining his African Player of the Year award in Senegal Tuesday. Salah Retains African Award to Seal Great Day for Egypt
Salah retains African award to seal great day for Egypt
Real Madrid have signed Serbia striker Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for 60 million euros ($67 million), reports suggest. Jovic, 21, scored 10 goals for the German side in their run to the
Football: Real Madrid sign Jovic for 60 million euros: Report
Pele to have urinary tract surgery in Brazil: hospital AFP April 10, 2019 AFP No Comments Sao Paulo (AFP) - Pele will have an operation to remove a 'ureteral stone,' his doctors said Wednesday, a day after the football great returned to Brazil following treatment in a Paris hospital for an infection.
Pele To Have Urinary Tract Surgery In Brazil Hospital
newsblenda.com/post/football/pele-to-have-urinary-tract-surgery-in-brazil-hospital.html
Pele will have an operation to remove a 'ureteral stone,' his doctors said Wednesday, a day after the football great returned to Brazil following treatment in a Paris hospital for an infection. The 78-year-old was admitted to the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo for more tests after arriving in Brazil early Tuesday.
Pele to have urinary tract surgery in Brazil: hospital
She does not throw furniture December 31 in Uncategorized by jimc No Comments. canada goose uk shop I am always skeptical of the information coming from the media. It is not necessarily always the media who I think are at fault for not reporting the facts, though.
LookWAYup
lookwayup.com/lwu.exe/lwu/d
definition of - senses, usage, synonyms, thesaurus. Online Dictionaries: Definition of Options|Tips Options|Tips
Full text of "The Times , 1993, UK, English" - archive.org
0 comments:
Post a Comment