Slaven Bilic and West Ham have had anything but an ideal start to the 2016/17 Premier League season, and Saturday’s result against Arsenal was a humble reminder of how far the club must come if they are to compete with England’s big boys.
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Despite Andy Carroll‘s late consolation for the Hammers seven minutes from time, Arsenal built up a throttling 5-1 victory at the London Stadium, leaving West Ham in 17th place.
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West Ham has now conceded nine goals in its previous two matches in all competitions, and have also failed to muster up a victory in six straight fixtures.
For Carroll, the English striker chalked the result up to Arsenal’s ability to punish West Ham when they became sloppy with the ball.
“It was a tough game and disappointing with the way it went. I was ready to come on at 1-0 but they went and scored,” Carroll said. “Their first was a little mistake and we got punished. You saw at the end how teams like Arsenal punish mistakes.”
Angelo Ogbonna cost West Ham in a big way during the first half after committing a turnover to Alexis Sanchez, who then set up Mesut Ozil for an easy tap-in near goal.
The Hammers had trailed 1-0 heading into the final 20 minutes, but Sanchez notched the first of his three goals in the 72nd minute and then proceeded to complete his hat-trick in a span of 14 minutes.
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While Bilic and co. will certainly be deflated following Saturday’s home defeat, Carroll believes the Hammers can turn things around with a simple shift in mentality.
“I’m feeling good but at times like this we need to focus on the team, rather than individuals. We have to improve,” Carroll said.
“We’ve got a good group and I’m sure we can pull ourselves out of it, but at the minute we’re in a tough spell.”
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