David Moyes has hailed his midfielders for their role in West Ham’s shock comeback draw against Arsenal on Sunday.
Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead at the London Stadium after just 10 minutes courtesy of goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard with the Premier League leaders in cruise control against a relegation threatened West Ham side.
However, the momentum of the game shifted in the Irons’ favour after the Gunners gave away a sloppy penalty that was converted by Said Benrahma, and deserved earned a point after Jarrod Bowen equalised in the second-half, just minutes after Bukayo Saka missed a penalty.
It was a remarkable turnaround, especially given how hopeless the home side were in the opening 30 minutes, with Moyes telling BBC Sport: ‘When you go 2-0 down to Arsenal you’re not sure how to get back into this.
‘We put them under pressure when we could but they scored two goals with their quality and it’s great credit to the players they stuck at it. At times you don’t get it right but at times you do.
‘Our three midfield players [Thomas Soucek, Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta] did a great job in trying to nullify Arsenal as best they could. The boys were incredible with the work they put in to stop Arsenal dominating.
‘Jarrod has played well in recent weeks and he is getting back to it, his goal was typical Jarrod, hoping to get a sniff and it came. There were moments in it where they had a bit of possession and we had to sit in the shape.
‘It would have been a good result getting a point anyway but going 2-0 down and coming back shows great character. The games are coming thick and fast and the players are doing a really good job.’
Goalscorer Bowen echoed his manager’s words, telling Sky Sports: ‘It’s a massive point. Coming into this, no one probably expected us to get anything from the game. We used that to our advantage and we went at them.
‘If you give them time on the ball they can create. It wasn’t the start we wanted but we dug in and nearly nicked it at the end.
‘We started on the front foot but it was two lapses of concentration in the penalty box and we got punished. The character in this group has never gone and we never let our heads go.’
The result keeps West Ham 15th in the table, but four points clear of the drop with a game in hand over almost all the teams below them.
Arsenal meanwhile are just four points clear of Manchester City having played a game more than their title rivals.
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