West Ham United put on a dominant performance to defeat Arsenal 3-1 in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
West Ham dominated the game early on, and Arsenal had a hard time creating scoring opportunities.
In the 16th minute, the Hammers went up 1-0 after Bowen's corner kick resulted in an own goal by Ben White.
In the 50th minute, Mohammed Kudus added to the lead with a spectacular piece of control and finishing. Bowen fired at goal with the outside of his right foot in the 60th minute, and the ball ended up in the back of the net for 3-0.
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal in the 96th minute, but it wasn't enough to salvage a tie.
A terrible night for Rice against former club
Declan Rice came on in the second half for Jorginho but could not stop his present team from being trounced by his long-time former team.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="696"]
Rice suffered a huge loss at the hands of former club, West Ham. | Credit: The Standard[/caption]
With about 30 minutes left, Arsenal substituted in Rice to try to rally from a 2-0 disadvantage. This fourth-round match ended in a 3-1 loss for Rice and the Gunners, capping off a miserable evening.
It's possible that West Ham will win another trophy before Rice does,
despite the fact that he was instrumental in leading the team to the Europa Conference League last season and gave a stirring farewell performance in his final game for the club.
While the Carabao Cup isn't Rice's ultimate goal, it may provide West Ham with the best opportunity to capitalize on last season's triumph.
West Ham's excellent performance
West Ham were the better team throughout the game. They had more possession time and more scoring opportunities than Arsenal.
The Hammers' defense was also strong, and they were successful in stopping Arsenal's attackers.
While both Bowen and Lucas Paqueta performed admirably, it was Mohammed Kudus's amazing second goal for the home team that truly stood out.
With Kudus, West Ham has made good use of the whooping money they got from selling Rice to Arsenal.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="710"]
Kudus' performance was outstanding with a brilliant goal against Arsenal. | Credit: Reuters. | Source: Google[/caption]
Arsenal's poor performance
However, Arsenal's lack of depth was exposed. Arteta's team didn't look like scoring, and after giving up a cheap corner, West Ham flooded the box.
Bowen fired a ferocious shot at the near post as Tomas Soucek tussled with Ramsdale on the goal line.
Ramsdale pushed past Soucek and crashed into the back of Gabriel, causing Arsenal's Ben White to get trapped behind Kai Havertz and thrown into the net, despite the fact that no West Ham player was in sight.
It was a terrible night for Ramsdale as well, who got the chance to play goalie after a long break.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="713"]
A terrible night for Aaron Ramsdale and his side on his return. | Credit: Getty Images[/caption]
LIVE UPDATES
