Arsenal Awaydays: What a special day out at West Ham as Gunners rout Hammers

Who put the ball in the West Ham net? Gooner Fanzine writer Thomas Dow will let you answer that one



Arsenal Awaydays: What a special day out at West Ham as Gunners rout Hammers

Bukayo Saka celebrates Arsenal's fifth goal with his team mates. CREDIT: Jacques Feeney / Offside


It’s not often you get to see your side win 6-0 away from home.

In fact, it’s the first time any Arsenal fans have got to see that in the league since 1935.

So to be in the ground for such an emphatic win really was memorable.

Entering into the ground amid the numerous security checks, the atmosphere in the concourse and surrounding areas seemed relaxed, with supporters buoyed by last week's win over Liverpool.

With the scars of surrendering a two-goal lead in this fixture last season, fans would have been forgiven for feeling somewhat edgy.

There is however, a growing sense of belief in this set of players.

I always find a visit to West Ham a slightly strange experience.

On the one hand, I think it is a decent sports venue. Having been there to watch Major League Baseball last summer, it offered a fantastic setting for such an event.

However, for the more tribalistic and boisterous football fan, it doesn’t quite get the balance right.

This is something that I’ve felt on every visit here since West Ham’s move from the Boleyn Ground in 2016. Now that was a venue fit for watching football. 

The volume in the away end yesterday was good, but with the distance between the lower and upper tier, the cacophony of noise doesn’t quite transfer like in some grounds where supporters are congregated in one area.

Brief moans aside though, it was a special game to be at.

With Arsenal barely surrendering an opportunity to the opposition, it was as relaxed an afternoon as you could wish to have in the midst of a title race.

After the award of the penalty in the 41st minute, Bukayo Saka confidently dispatched the spot kick to exorcise the demons of last year’s miss and put Arsenal in full control. 

As Arsenal finished the half with a flurry to roar into a four-goal lead, the mass exodus in the home end simply enhanced the noise emanating from the away stand.

Saka soon added a fifth, but there was still one thing missing from the day to really compound the hosts' misery, and that was a Declan Rice goal.

As the midfielder rifled in a long-range effort, his celebration may have been subdued, but those in the away end were anything but. 

Who put the ball in the West Ham net? I’ll let you finish that one!

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