While Mikel Arteta delighted in Arsenal’s third win in succession, to climb back to second in the Premier League, his fellow Basque Julen Lopetegui was annoyed by the Gunners’ use of unfair means at corners in West Ham’s 5-2 derby defeat.
The damage was done to the Hammers in a first half in which a Premier League record-equalling seven goals were scored, and Lopetegui, his future uncertain after such a heavy defeat, felt at least two of Arsenal’s goals should have been disallowed. “I think that we deserved two goals in the first half but they didn’t deserve five,” he said.
The corner routine that brought Arsenal’s 10th-minute opener from Gabriel particularly annoyed Lopetegui. “There is one player that bumped into the back of [Lucas] Paquetá with the only intention that he can’t jump.” The Brazilian, at the front post, had been baulked by Jurriën Timber. “The rules have to be the same for all of us.”
Lopetegui said his team had been prepared for the routine as devised by Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s acclaimed set-piece specialist. “The first was a set piece that we prepared and, in my opinion, has been a very, very clear foul. We were unlucky with the decisions today. We asked before the match, the referee with the block, as a coach we have to know the limit.”
Arsenal’s fifth goal, halting a two-goal revival from West Ham, was a penalty scored by Bukayo Saka, awarded after Lukasz Fabianski had caught Gabriel in the face with an attempted punch. “I think that killed the match,” said Lopetegui. “You compare the contact in the first goal in the block with Paquetá … But it is not one excuse because we have and we can do better for sure.”
In contrast Arteta was celebrating. “It was a spectacular 30 minutes straight away, how much the team wanted it, the purpose, the determination, the quality that we delivered to score three,” he said. “[They were] great goals in different ways and then we score the fourth one as well in a great way as well.”
There was also praise for Bukayo Saka’s contribution: “He has been really consistent with scoring, assisting and always being available for us so, really good.”
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Victory completed a successful week for resurgent Arsenal. “Winning three consecutive games against three opponents is great,” Arteta said, before referencing Sunday’s showdown meeting between title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City. “We had to do our job and we’ve done it today in a really convincing way. And yeah, we’re going to enjoy tonight and watch a beautiful game of football tomorrow.”
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