The Hammers had a perfect start as they won their first Premier League game under new manager Slaven Bilić by beating the Gunners 2 - 0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal’s £10 million summer signing, ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech, was making his debut for the north-Londoners, but it could have hardly gone worse; he miscalculated Dimitri Payet's free-kick, allowing Cheikhou Kouyaté to head in Hammers' opener in the 43rd minute of the match.
And then, the experienced 33 year-old keeper was also at fault 12 minutes after the restart, when he was wrong footed by Argentine Mauro Zárate, who scored from 20 yards, after omissions by the Gunners defence.
Arsenal, who won the FA Cup trophy and achieved the convincing third-placed finish in the Premier League last season, looked too nervous and rushed their game; although they dominated the possession with 62%, only six of their 22 shots were on target, as Wales international Aaron Ramsey's first-half effort against the bar was the closest they came. The other Gunners’ striker Olivier Giroud looked isolated up front and his attempts came in ineffective, and the Chilean Alexis Sánchez, who was Arsenal’s top scorer last season, only managed one shot from the centre of the box in the 90th minute.
On the other hand, West Ham were physically strong, focused and disciplined throughout the match. Their new manager Bilić, 46, who replaced Sam Allardyce in June 2015, was determined for the Hammers to display the qualities he was renowned for during his spell as a defender with the club from 1996 to 1997.
Before joining West Ham, Bilić also managed Lokomotiv Moscow from 2012-2013 and Besiktas for two seasons, from 2013- 2015.
The Hammers’ Reece Oxford, who produced an outstanding skills in central midfield, was the man- of- the- match. He became his club’s youngest- ever Premier League player at the age of just 16 years and 237 days.
Oxford joined the Hammers’ under-13 academy, after leaving Tottenham; he demonstrated on Sunday that he had true West Ham’s fighting spirit; he had the mentality to cope in midfield and was composed and not afraid to face more experienced players and big names. The Three Lions U17 captain is looking like one of England’s finest young prospects on the back of that performance.
