It was a frustrating night for Arsenal as they were held to a 0-0 draw by city rivals West Ham at the London Stadium on Wednesday.
First Half
The visitors started the match brightly as they camped out in the opposition half, but the Irons’ defence was well organised and kept them at bay.
David Moyes’ side slowly grew into the game and Marko Arnautovic almost had an opener when he headed into the back of the net, only to be flagged for offside.
Jack Wilshere combined well with Olivier Giroud before picking out Alexis Sanchez, who let loose a shot that took a deflection to go over the bar, while 30 minutes in Iwobi rattled the post with a good shot from a tight angle after being played in by Sanchez after he dispossessed Manuel Lanzini.
A few minutes before the break, the hosts had a penalty appeal turned down when Lanzini went to ground after grappling with Granit Xhaka, but referee Andre Marriner deemed it a 50/50 challenge as the teams entered half-time on level terms.
Second Half
The east Londoners had an early chance in the second half through Arnautovic. Mark Noble managed to chest the ball over Nacho Monreal towards the Austrian, who rushed his shot which flew over the bar.
The Gunners soon began dominating possession again and Giroud had a header deflected wide shortly before Mesut Ozil poked a shot wide after a lucky deflection fell towards the midfielder.
It began to look like one of those nights for Arsene Wenger’s men as Wilshere volleyed over the bar from close range after Giroud teed him up.
Wenger’s last throw of the dice was to introduce Alexandre Lacazette in place of Sanchez, while Moyes replaced Michail Antonio with Hernandez.
The Scot’s substitution almost proved a masterstroke as ‘Chicharito’ came within inches of scoring. After sustained pressure from the Hammers, a bad clearance saw the Mexican played in on goal and he smashed a shot that hit the bar and bounced down onto the line but didn’t cross it.
Full Time: West Ham United 0 – 0 Arsenal
