Arteta makes ‘crazy’ Arsenal admission following West Ham goal fest

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·30. November 2024

Arteta makes ‘crazy’ Arsenal admission following West Ham goal fest

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says his side have to get better at game management following a hectic first half against West Ham on Saturday.

The Gunners ran riot over their London rivals at the London Stadium, winning 5-2 to bring them within six points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

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Gabriel Magalhaes gave the visitors an early after heading in from a corner. Leandro Trossard doubled their lead before Martin Ødegaard converted from the penalty spot. Kai Havertz scored on the counter to put them four up after just 33 minutes.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka got one back for West Ham soon after, though, and Emerson found the net just moments later to reduce the deficit to two goals. The game was put out of reach, however, when Bukayo Saka scored a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time.

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Arteta makes ‘crazy’ Arsenal admission after West Ham win

“We made it crazy, we played so well at the start of the game,” Arteta told BBC Match of the Day. “We scored three early goals and then they score one immediately after kick-off and then another one – then it was game on.

“We have to manage the game – we did that really well. The last two games were tricky and to score goals is a big one.”

Arteta maxed out his five substitutions during the game to manage his squad ahead of a busy period of the campaign. Arsenal host Manchester United next Wednesday before travelling to Fulham four days later.

“We knew before the game we were going to make substitutions because of the state of players, but we have to manage that. Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko come in, Jorginho was excellent. I am very pleased.”

Despite enjoying a three-goal lead at the interval, Arteta said at halftime that “the message was to not relax and to go for more.”

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