Arsenal vs West Ham player ratings: Everyone breathe

Arsenal got their first win of the Unai Emery era, but it wasn’t easy. These are building blocks, though, so let’s talk player ratings.

Arsenal got off to the same nightmarish start that they’ve been getting off to – surrendering a goal. Against West Ham, who similarly have zero points, this was cause for murmurings around the Emirates.

However it didn’t last long. Nacho Monreal took a cool-as-you-like finish and put the Gunners back up after arguably Hector Bellerin‘s only good contribution of the game.

Throughout the rest of the first half, the Gunners continued to get skinned on counter-attacks while Bellerin continuously played the Hammers’ attack onside and it just felt like a shaky, precarious and horribly flimsy set-up.

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The second half didn’t provide much relief until that second goal went in, courtesy of a fired short cross by Alexandre Lacazette that bounced off Diop’s midsection.

And even still, the nerves could not settle. West Ham nearly pulled one back right at the 90 minute mark due to more shoddy defending.

But we killed it off, courtesy of Danny Welbeck. Huzzah!

There are still a lot of problems in this team, but Unai Emery is experimenting. He is trying new things and seeing what works best and as long as that is the case, we shouldn’t have anything to complain about.

Now, to the player ratings, where I had my hardest time picking a man of the match ever.

Goalkeeper