Darren Bent amazed live on talkSPORT by ‘bonkers’ Arsenal stat in defeat vs West Ham United
Darren Bent says it is “bonkers” that Arsenal failed to score in their loss to West Ham, despite registering 77 touches in the opposition penalty box.
The Gunners’ tally of touches in the Hammers’ 18-yard area is the most on record of any Premier League team without scoring, as per Opta on Twitter [28 December].
United went on to earn a comfortable – if not controversial – 2-0 win in Thursday’s (28 December) contest at Emirates Stadium.
Discussing the game on talkSPORT [29 December, 4:14pm], Bent said: “It’s bonkers. They had 77 touches in the West Ham box.”
Arsenal supporter Bent went on to add: “It was a bad result last night, but fair play to West Ham.”
Fair play
Bent was right to credit West Ham for the victory, rather than put the Hammers’ famous win down to Arsenal failing to turn up.
Ultimately, it was down to David Moyes’ tactics that the opposition struggled for much of the evening on home soil.
There may have been question marks over Tomas Soucek’s opener, but West Ham did a job on Arsenal and could have won 3-0 in the end if not for a saved penalty.
There is no doubt that Arsenal were particularly blunt in the penalty area. Not only did they have 77 touches in the United box, they managed 30 shots – eight of those on target – but zero goals to show for it.
Alphonse Areola had a good game in goal, while Arsenal’s attackers had an off-day, and that all equated to Moyes’ men claiming three big points in North London.
For all the negativity surrounding Arsenal’s display, and of course the nature of Soucek’s opener, West Ham’s players deserve all the credit that comes their way.
In other West Ham news, a Hammers player has emerged as a target for another European club ahead of the January transfer window.