Julen Lopetegui’s ‘non-existent’ West Ham preparation slammed after Arsenal rout

Danny Murphy was left aghast by just how poorly-prepared Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham United were when they hosted Arsenal at the London Stadium, with the visitors running riot in a 5-2 victory.

All seven goals came in the first half of the game, with West Ham constant torn open and under threat from Arsenal.

Gabriel Magalhaes headed Arsenal ahead after ten minutes, Leandro Tossard tapped home off Bukayo Saka’s ball across the box, Martin Odegaard converted from the penalty spot after Saka was hauled down, and Kai Havertz beat Max Kilman to a long ball over the top to finish one-on-one with Lukas Fabianski.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s well-taken finish and Emerson Palmieri’s unstoppable free kick brought West Ham back to just a two-goal deficit, but Arsenal were awarded another penalty after Fabianski caught Gabriel in the face when trying to punch away a corner – Saka this time stepping up to convert.

The result leaves West Ham 14th after a disappointing start to the season, with Lopetegui now back under pressure again after briefly earning some respite thanks to a 2-0 win away to Newcastle on Monday night.

READ: Arsenal decide not to force Lopetegui sack despite Saka and Odegaard masterclass

Speaking on Match of the Day, Murphy said of West Ham on Match of the Day: “The real basics of football, they struggled with. [Michail] Antonio as your centre-forward marking their best header of the ball…I found that strange. He left him, he lost him, he didn’t seem comfortable doing it, marking the best header of the ball in the Premier League from set plays.

“Also Kilman, who’s arguably their best header of the ball who should be marking him, in my opinion: he has a little look, but it’s too early. I think his body language is wrong. He should be more open so he can see Gabriel coming, and the last thing he doesn’t do, he doesn’t move forward towards the ball when he sees the trajectory of the ball, so Gabriel flies by him, and Kilman can’t get there. So that was a bad start.

“Communication, basics, not winning your second balls, the dropdown balls – all the normal things. They had Odegaard, one of [Arsenal’s] best players, [they were] letting him run. And here, I Saka, one of the best finishers on his left foot in the Premier League is inside the 18 yard box, [and there’s] no-one near him within 10 yards. Unbelievable. Surely they’ve worked on that?”

Murphy added: “These are the fundamentals. Winning duels, closing down space, tracking runs, being competitive against a good side.

“… Now Arsenal did play really well, but some of those goals aren’t difficult to stop – they’re avoidable, aren’t they? The concentration and preparation from West Ham was non-existent compared to Monday night at Newcastle.”

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