West Ham 0 Arsenal 0: Javier Hernandez nearly the hero as Hammers hold Gunners to London derby draw

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James Benge13 December 2017

West Ham continued their resurgence under David Moyes as they held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the London Stadium.

Though the point was not enough to take the Hammers out of the bottom three the discipline with which they held their visitors at bay would suggest it won’t take them long to escape the relegation zone.

Meanwhile Arsenal’s struggles away from home continued. They have won just two of their nine league games on the road and find themselves seventh with nearly half the season played.

Whilst Moyes opted to retain the side that had claimed a 1-0 win over Chelsea five days earlier Arsene Wenger rang the changes, abandoning the back three he has persisted with in the league since April for a 4-1-4-1, handing Jack Wilshere, Olivier Giroud and Ainsley-Maitland Niles first league starts of the season and leaving out top scorer Alexandre Lacazette.

The switch to the back four might have given Wenger a cavalcade of attacking options but the gaping holes in Arsenal’s rearguard were no less apparent with one centre-back fewer. Once again their opponents punctured the defence early on, though in this instance Marko Arnautovic was marginally offside when he headed home after 14 minutes.

Moyes’ disciplined defence could not have offered a greater contrast in the first half hour, when Arsenal were largely reduced to moving the ball sideways in the hope a gap would open. It briefly did for Alex Iwobi, whose low drive from inside the area clattered back off the post.

Granit Xhaka’s clumsy defending nearly cost Arsenal dearly just before the interval. Shepherding the ball out of play for a goal kick he contrived to hand possession to Manuel Lanzini and, as he fell, bring the Argentine down with him.

West Ham began the second period with purpose and came close to the game’s opening goal when Mark Noble chested into the path of the dangerous Arnautovic, whose hooked volley landed on the roof of Cech’s net.

Arsenal continued to find the task of breaking past the eight defenders in the West Ham box an excruciating one, though a lucky deflection would tee up Mesut Ozil to fizz wide. The German, however, seemed to struggle without runners in behind, as a static Giroud struggled to offer much beyond an aerial threat largely tamed by Angelo Ogbonna.

On a rare occasion Giroud did get the better of the West Ham defence Wilshere failed to test Adrian with a half-volley inside the area.

For all that the Hammers had been pinned back it took them 72 minutes to concede a free-kick in a shooting area. Noble’s tread on Wilshere was nearly cruelly punished but Adrian pushed Alexis Sanchez’s 25 yard strike clear.

Though West Ham were largely pinned back their counters were no less dangerous than Arsenal’s meandering possession, not least when Petr Cech miscued a punch that dropped inches away from him at the feet of Arnautovic. Nacho Monreal just about scrambled the ball off the line.

The introductions of Lacazette and Javier Hernandez, the former for the profligate Sanchez, as time wore on suggested both sides could find a late winner. It was Arsenal who had to ride out the storm as they continually gifted possession to their hosts.

Hernandez nearly won it for the hosts when his 90th minute curling strike cannoned back off the crossbar. It would have been no more than West Ham deserved.