Mikel Arteta rubbishes ‘lucky Arsenal’ claim as David Moyes is left frustrated by the officials

Mikel Arteta rubbishes ‘lucky Arsenal’ claim while David Moyes is left frustrated by the officials and VAR as West Ham suffer second defeat of the season

  • Mikel Arteta rubbished claims his side were lucky to beat West Ham on Saturday  
  • The Hammers were the better side but conceded late to fall to another defeat 
  • David Moyes was left frustrated after his side were denied a penalty for handball 

The first touch of the ball for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came after 13 minutes and 48 seconds. Arsenal’s first shot of the match came after 24 minutes and 17 seconds. They scored with that, too.

There was a time when this club was known as ‘lucky Arsenal’ – a tag born in the 1930s when disgruntled opponents would dominate games but somehow still lose to Herbert Chapman’s side.

Mikel Arteta says he doesn’t believe in luck, but David Moyes might believe in bad luck after this. West Ham were the better side and yet suffered their second defeat of the season.

Mikel Arteta said he doesn’t believe in luck despite Arsenal leaving it late to beat West Ham

This was Moyes’s 20th visit to Arsenal as a manager and he has never won. ‘Thanks for the reminder,’ said the Scot when one reporter mentioned that statistic.

Next up for West Ham in the Premier League are Wolves, Leicester, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool. After this latest loss, seeing in November pointless is starting to look like a very real possibility.

But before tackling that frightening fixture list, Moyes will have to dissect where this match was won and lost.

There was VAR failing to award West Ham a penalty after an apparent handball by Gabriel, on the same day that Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof was penalised for something very similar. There was Michail Antonio failing to finish a chance from three yards, before hitting the crossbar.

David Moyes was left frustrated by the officials and VAR after his side were denied a penalty

David Moyes was left frustrated by the officials and VAR after his side were denied a penalty

Then in the final five minutes, West Ham’s disciplined defence faltered. Andriy Yarmolenko failed to track the run of Dani Ceballos, believing his centre back Issa Diop should have him covered. But Diop was preoccupied with Aubameyang. Ceballos collected the ball and coolly found Eddie Nketiah, the 21-year-old substitute, who made it 2-1 and secured a surprise three points.

To make matters worse for Moyes, Patrice Evra had regurgitated those old, unfounded rumours about his daughter and Wilfried Zaha while acting as a pundit live on Sky Sports earlier, too. So it was little wonder Moyes was in a foul mood when speaking to the press via Zoom afterwards.

Nothing went his way on Saturday, and it was the PGMOL who bore the brunt of his complaints.

‘We’re not really convinced by many of the rules but we have to accept them,’ said Moyes of the handball laws. ‘The hardest part is that we never get any good reporting back. We never get any clarity. They say they do but they don’t. They give you very little.

The Hammers were the better side at the Emirates but were unable to hold on for a draw

The Hammers were the better side at the Emirates but were unable to hold on for a draw

‘We make lots of mistakes – players and managers. But I’ve got to say the referees rarely make any mistakes. When we get the results back, very rarely have the referees or VAR made mistakes.’

Moyes, who added he wants to sign ‘three or four players’, was asked whether that was sarcasm. ‘I’d love to say it was just sarcasm but what I’m saying is actually the truth,’ he answered.

Arteta preferred to focus on how Arsenal would have lost this match ‘a few months ago’. He feels he has changed his players’ mentalities – and Sportsmail’s suggestion that his side had got lucky is rubbish, apparently.

‘You have to earn luck,’ said Arteta, smiling. ‘People who are lazy, they don’t work, they don’t put their passion into their work – I don’t think they can get lucky.’

Alexandre Lacazette is negotiating an extension after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's new deal

Alexandre Lacazette is negotiating an extension after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s new deal 

Arteta added he is glad to have those questions on Aubameyang’s contract behind him. But then he was asked about Alexandre Lacazette, who is currently tied down until 2022.

Negotiations have not started yet, but Arteta is confident they won’t let it get into its final year.

For Arsenal, they can look onwards and upwards. For West Ham, it’s looking downhill from here. Moyes could do with something going his way, both in the transfer market and on the field.



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk