Hammers give Moyes a lift as Arsenal are swept aside

West Ham United v Arsenal – Carabao Cup fourth round – London Stadium – Report 

West Ham United 3-1 Arsenal

There is little doubt that David Moyes was a man under pressure.

Successive defeats at the hands of Aston Villa, Olympiacos and Everton, coupled with below-par performances had rattled the cages of the West Ham support. Moyes needed a performance and a result. His team provided both with aplomb.

An own-goal from Ben White set the ball rolling, before second-half strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen had the Hammers in dreamland against an Arsenal side, much-changed but more than capable.

Martin Odegaard’s late strike might have taken some of the gloss off the result, but this had been so much better from Moyes’s men: “It was a great result,” the Scotsman enthused.

“It was a really good team performance. We had a few new players out there; Dinos came in at centre-half and did very well. Jarrod went up at centre-forward and did well, and Mo came in and did really, really well tonight. There were a lot of good things to be pleased about.”

The Hammers chief continued: “We need to be rock solid. 

“I think everyone can see we’re trying to play slightly differently and get better. 

“We’ve got the players now to do it and we’re trying to be better on the ball. But ultimately, if we can’t defend then we’re going to have a problem. We have to make sure we can do that as well as we possibly can.”

The victory set West Ham up for a quarter-final tie with Liverpool at Anfield: “Hopefully we’re becoming a cup team,” Moyes added. 

“If we do then we might have more success like we had at the end of last season. But we’re also talking about Premier League teams, so whoever you get it’s going to be a real battle. 

“One way or another, it’s another game on our already heavy schedule. But we’d always rather be in the cup than out of it.”