Mikel Arteta shoulders responsibility as West Ham defeats Arsenal 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, leading to Gunners’ elimination.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, made six changes to his starting XI, leaving Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and captain Martin Odegaard on the bench. The Arsenal team’s performance fell below expectations, for which Arteta shouldered the responsibility, stating, “I’m very disappointed. I’m responsible for that.”
He continued, “We’re out of the Cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete. The game took a direction because of the first goal, but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win. I’m disappointed with myself. We wanted to play in a different way, and we weren’t able to do that. Every time we lose, the pain is there. We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle [in the Premier League] on Saturday.”
Arsenal’s woes began when West Ham took the lead through an own goal in the 16th minute, with Jarrod Bowen’s corner leading to Ben White inadvertently nodding the ball past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. Despite complaints of a foul on Ramsdale, the absence of VAR at this stage of the League Cup meant they went unanswered.
Despite dominating possession, Arsenal couldn’t find a breakthrough. Their struggles continued as Mohammed Kudus scored a superb goal after trapping a long cross-field pass from Nayef Aguerd, finishing low through Gabriel’s legs five minutes into the second half. West Ham sealed their win just before the hour when Bowen capitalized on a defensive error from White and volleyed a shot from the edge of the area, deflecting off Gabriel’s thigh to wrongfoot Ramsdale.
Martin Odegaard managed to slot a goal into the bottom corner with the final kick of the game, but Arsenal’s 30-year wait for a League Cup win continued. West Ham advanced to the quarter-finals for the third consecutive season, setting up a clash with Liverpool.
The match also marked Declan Rice’s return to West Ham, having transferred to Arsenal for £105 million in the summer. While the home fans largely welcomed him back, his new club was already trailing when he warmed up. Arsenal had a promising start, but they couldn’t convert it into goals. Rice faced a mix of cheers and boos when he came on, and shortly after, Arsenal conceded their third goal.
West Ham’s performance was a marked improvement from their previous three matches, and they managed to bounce back from their recent struggles with a convincing win. Jarrod Bowen summed up the team’s spirit, saying, “We had to fight, we knew we were playing a top side, but it was a really good performance compared to the last few [games]. We have not been at the level, but we were always going to bounce back, and tonight was the perfect way to do it.”