Mikel Arteta’s side were well beaten at the London Stadium as they fell to their first domestic defeat of the season

Arsenal slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Wednesday night as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup in tame fashion. Mikel Arteta made six changes from the team that saw off Sheffield United 5-0 at the weekend, but his fringe players were unable to make any sort of impact during a hugely disappointing evening in east London.

The visitors probably just about shaded the first half, but went into the break a goal behind after Ben White headed into his own net. Arteta’s side were abject after the interval, however, as strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen saw the Hammers stretch their advantage.

Substitute Martin Odegaard did pull a goal back for Arsenal in stoppage-time, but but by then the damage had been done.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Aaron Ramsdale (4/10):

Unlucky with the own goal as he was clearly having his shirt pulled. Looked edgy with the ball at his feet and West Ham tried to target that. Made a good save to deny Bowen early in the second half, but should have done better with the third goal despite the deflection.

Ben White (5/10):

Got his near post header all wrong as he gifted West Ham the lead with an own goal.

Gabriel Magalhaes (5/10):

Could have done better with the second goal in terms of trying to block the shot. Turned his back a bit for fear of handling the ball.

Jakub Kiwior (6/10):

Started the game well and was always looking to defend on the front foot. Had a good battle with Bowen.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (3/10):

Not at his best. Switched off in the passage of play that led to the corner that saw West Ham go in front. Defensively he still looks suspect, which showed on the second goal as well.

Midfield

Jorginho (4/10):

It always looked like he might find himself a bit isolated in this starting XI. Got caught on the ball a few times, with very little support. Looked very sluggish. No surprise when he was replaced early in the second half.

Fabio Vieira (3/10):

Disappointing. He would have been hoping to make an impression having been handed a rare start, but had no real impact on the game. It just passed him by completely.

Kai Havertz (4/10):

Actually started the game well and looked hungry to make his mark. Went close with an early header which was saved, but faded as the match wore on. Another lacklustre display.

Attack

Leandro Trossard (4/10):

Couldn’t get into areas that could really hurt West Ham. Was often getting the ball wide out on the touchline and couldn’t really impact the game like Arsenal would have wanted.

Eddie Nketiah (4/10):

Couldn’t repeat his heroics from the weekend. Sent one header wide in the first half and scooped another effort over just before half-time. Barely touched the ball after half-time.

Reiss Nelson (6/10):

Probably the brightest of the three Arsenal attackers who started the game. His trickery caused West Ham some problems and he saw a couple of shots blocked.

Subs & Manager

Declan Rice (5/10):

Was the pantomime villain on his return to the London Stadium. Brought on at 2-0 and could do little to turn things round.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (5/10):

Brought on to replace the struggling Zinchenko. Looks a certainty to start at Newcastle on Saturday now.

Bukayo Saka (5/10):

Felt like a risky decision to send him on at 3-0 down. Did nothing to alter the trajectory of the contest.

Gabriel Martinelli (5/10):

Similar to Saka. The game was done when he was introduced. Would have been better to give him the night off completely.

Martin Odegaard (6/10):

On for the final 10 minutes and scored a consolation in stoppage-time.

Mikel Arteta (3/10):

Made plenty of changes as expected and they didn’t work out. Midfield always looked a bit lightweight at that’s how it proved. Felt like a strange decision to risk Saka and Martinelli when the game was already over at 3-0.