Arsenal v West Ham United Live Commentary & Result, 19/12/2017, League Cup

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Arsenal are through to the last four of the League Cup as Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game in the first half. It was a contest of few chances as the Gunners had the only effort on target in the match when Welbeck found the net. Despite chasing the game in the second period, the closest the Hammers came was a wide free-kick from Aaron Cresswell. A meek performance from David Moyes' men, but Arsenal won't mind as they take a step towards the final.

FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 1-0 WEST HAM

90' + 4' The referee ends the contest.

90' + 4' Ogbonna sends a hopeful long ball forward, but Kolasinac guides the ball out for a goal-kick.

90' + 2' Arsenal are doing a solid job taking the pace out of the game. West Ham are going to fade without a fight here.

90' There will be four minutes of stoppage time.

J. Dasilva

F. Coquelin

90' Dasilva replaces Coquelin for the home side.

88' West Ham have not offered a great deal in this contest. They've got two minutes and stoppage time to force extra time here.

86' Hart comes out to make a better sliding challenge on this occasion as he sends a long ball over the top for Nelson into touch.

B. Sheaf

J. Willock

84' Willock makes way for Sheaf.

M. Arnautović

Domingos Quina

83' Arnautovic replaces Quina for the visitors.

82' Ospina goes down under pressure from Carroll in the box after claiming a cross at the back post. He looks to be ok to continue and may have just been taking a few valuable seconds off the clock.

80' CHANCE! Willock weaves his way into the box sees his effort blocked into the path of Walcott. The forward cannot turn to fire so he lays a pass back to Elneny. However, he takes a poor first touch and the visitors are able to crowd him out to clear.

79' Rice sends a teasing cross to the back post for Carroll to attack, but Arsenal form a wall to protect Ospina as he collects the ball.

R. Nelson

O. Giroud

78' Nelson replaces Giroud, which sees Walcott move into the middle, while the substitute goes out to the right flank.

76' Arsenal break with Welbeck, but his support man Giroud pulls up with a hamstring injury and hits the deck.

74' Ayew tries to scoop a cross to the back post for Carroll, but it sails over the head of the forward and Chambers guides the ball out for a goal-kick.

72' Elneny lifts the resulting cross into the box, but it lands safely into the hands of Hart at the back post.

72' BLOCK! Elneny goes for the low drive from the resulting free-kick, but Collins sticks out a leg to send the ball wide of the post.

J. Hart

Yellow Card

71' Hart is booked for his challenge on Welbeck.

71' A long ball over the top releases Welbeck and he knocks the ball forwards into the box. Hart comes out to try to make the tackle, but he brings down the forward, although the referee says it was outside the box.

70' West Ham put a series of crosses into the box, but the Gunners' defence holds firm under the aerial bombardment.

69' Expect a physical battle for the final 20 minutes as Kolasinac nudges Carroll off the ball to prevent him climbing to attack a long ball forward.

67' Masuaku plays a low cross into the box and it almost falls for Ayew, but the ball bounces off his knee and Holding guides the ball back to Ospina.

66' Carroll announces his arrival on the pitch with an aerial duel with Coquelin that leaves the Frenchman in need of treatment on the pitch.

D. Sakho

Javier Hernández

65' Hernandez makes way to be replaced by Sakho.

A. Carroll

A. Cresswell

65' Carroll replaces Cresswell for the visitors.

65' The back-up fourth official is called into action for the first time this evening.

64' WIDE! Cresswell goes for the strike, but he pulls his left-footed effort wide of the post

63' Masuaku leads West Ham forward and he cuts inside to threaten the middle of the field. Debuchy brings him down on the edge of the box, handing the visitors a free-kick in a great position.

62' Coquelin tries to break through the West Ham defensive line with an effort from distance, but his tame drive is cleared with ease by Collins.

59' Hernandez finds space down the right and he knocks the ball forward to get the better of Holding. The defender pushes him down to the deck, but the referee deems that the challenge was fair, much to the fury of the visitors.

57' Giroud wins a corner down the left for the home side and he rises to try to meet Elneny's delivery, but the Hammers defend in numbers to block his effort.

55' Obiang hits a hopeful long ball forward for Hernandez, but Chambers heads the ball back to Ospina with ease.

54' Arsenal are controlling possession at the start of the second half and will feel that a second goal will kill off the Hammers' resistance. The longer it stays 1-0 West Ham will have hope of forcing extra time.

52' Welbeck almost plays himself through the West Ham defence, but Reid stops his progress at the last minute.

51' Quina raids down the left and he sends a good cross into the box that is not convincingly cleared by Kolasinac, but there's no-one there for the Hammers to apply pressure.

50' There has been a change in the officials at the break as fourth official Chris Kavanagh is now running the line in place of Stuart Burt.

49' Elneny lifts the free-kick into the box and the Hammers can only clear the ball behind for a corner.

49' Arsenal win a free-kick 30 yards from goal and Elneny stands over the ball waiting to take the set-piece.

47' Willock has time to swing a cross into the box, but he fails to lift the ball over the head of Reid, who clears the danger.

46' We're back underway at the Emirates Stadium.

Danny Welbeck's goal has handed Arsenal the lead at the break against West Ham in this League Cup quarter-final clash. It was a half of few chances, with both sides lacking in quality for the majority of the opening 45 minutes. The Gunners upped the ante towards the interval and should have been ahead through Theo Walcott. However, Welbeck lifted his team-mate off the hook with a strike in the 42nd minute to put the home side in control.

HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 1-0 WEST HAM

45' + 1' The referee ends the first half.

45' + 1' Masuaku raids down the flank and fires the ball low into the box, but Chambers is there to clear with authority at the near post.

45' There will be one minute of added time.

45' OVER! Reid fails to clear Debuchy's cross into the box. Welbeck gathers before sliding the ball to Willock on the edge of the box. The midfielder goes for the strike, but he fires his effort over the bar.

44' Coquelin tries to thread the ball through to Giroud and the ball takes a deflection to almost fall for the Frenchman, only for Ogbonna to clear at the vital moment.

43' For the first time in the game the Hammers failed to clear a simple cross into the box and were duly punished by the Gunners. They now have to come out of their defensive shape.

M. Debuchy

Assist

42' Debuchy rises to nod the ball across the face of goal for Welbeck to convert.

D. Welbeck

Goal

42' GOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! WELBECK PUTS ARSENAL AHEAD! West Ham fail to clear their lines from a cross into the box. Debuchy wins the initial header and guides the ball across the face of goal. Welbeck tries to head at goal first time, but his effort is blocked. However, the rebound falls to him and with his second effort he guides the ball past Hart from close range.

39' MISS! WALCOTT MISSES A SITTER! Arsenal should be ahead as Kolasinac lifts the ball into the box for an unmarked Walcott at the back post. He has time to guide his header at goal, but he directs his effort wide of the post. A shocking effort from the Arsenal skipper.

37' WIDE! Kolasinac cuts in from the left flank and goes for a strike on his right foot, but his effort sails comfortably past the post.

36' Cresswell lifts a decent cross into the box, and although Ogbonna rises to head at goal, his effort goes up and allows Ospina to claim with relative ease.

35' Masuaku goes on the charge down the left flank and wins a free-kick for a poor challenge from Debuchy. A chance for the Hammers to put a threatening cross into the box.

34' It has been one-paced from Arsenal this evening. There has been no injection of pace in the middle of the park.

32' Debuchy throws the ball long into the box, but between Rice and Ogbonna, the Hammers keep Giroud away from the action in the box.

30' Coquelin lofts the ball forward and Ogbonna has to track the run of Walcott. The Arsenal skipper tries to knock the ball into the box, but can only steer it behind for a goal-kick.

28' Walcott sends a low cross in from the right, but Ogbonna marks the near post to steer the ball away from Giroud.

27' Arsenal are not making any headway in penetrating the West Ham backline. The Hammers have been solid since the opening minute.

25' Coquelin tries to send a quick ball over the top of the Hammers' backline, but Cresswell rises to head back to Hart. Solid defending from the full-back.

23' Quina tries to slide Hernandez behind the Arsenal defence, but he plays his pass straight to Chambers. The quality from both teams has been lacking thus far.

22' West Ham are able to defend the edge of their own box as Giroud probes as Collins and Reid stop the Frenchman from firing a strike at goal before Walcott sends his cross behind for a goal-kick.

21' Collins' clearance almost allows West Ham to threaten through Walcott, but the Welshman clears before the forward can react on the edge of the box.

20' The pace of the game is suiting the visitors as Arsenal are struggling to inject tempo into their play.

18' Giroud tries to open up the Hammers' backline with a neat flick around the corner for Walcott, but the two players are not on the same page. The offload had too much pace on it anyway as Hart gathered comfortably.

16' Arsenal are yet to get going in the final third. The quality has not been there from the Gunners in the early stages.

14' Welbeck goes for a strike from the edge of the box after space opens up for the forward, only to see his effort deflected wide by Collins.

13' Walcott gets a second opportunity with a delivery from the left flank, but this time Giroud cannot free himself of the attention of Ogbonna and the ball goes out for a throw-in.

12' Walcott's delivery is poor and is cleared by the first West Ham defender at the near post.

11' Debuchy goes on the charge down the right and wins a corner off the legs of Quina.

10' Arsenal are yet to get going in their passing game, with the visitors comfortable in their shape at the moment.

9' Masuaku looks for the offload on the edge of the box, but his pass is intercepted by Chambers when looking for Ayew.

7' West Ham find space on the counter and Quina sends Hernandez into the left channel, but his cross into the box is blocked by Chambers.

5' Cresswell loses possession and Arsenal are allowed to break through Walcott, but Giroud is caught offside as the winger tries to release his team-mate.

3' Arsenal work the ball down the right wing once again and Debuchy lifts a cross to the back post, but Welbeck cannot make solid contact with his header.

1' Walcott raids down the right flank and lifts a cross into the box, but Hart comes off his line to claim.

1' We're underway at the Emirates Stadium.

STAT ATTACK! This will be the third meeting between these sides in this competition, with West Ham winning a third round tie in October 1966, and Arsenal winning at this stage at Upton Park in January 1998. Both winners of League Cup ties between these clubs have ended up being losing semi-finalists in that competition.

West Ham have made six changes from their win over Stoke last time out. Joe Hart returns in goal, while Winston Reid. Declan Rice, Javier Hernandez, Domingos Quina and Andre Ayew all get the nod to start. Manuel Lanzini starts the first match of his two-game suspension.

Arsenal have made complete changes to their side that beat Newcastle last week in anticipation of their clash against Liverpool on Friday. Theo Walcott returns from injury to lead a three-man attack alongside Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck. Joe Willock, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin hold down the midfield. Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac come into the back four, while David Ospina stars between the sticks. The saviour of the last round Nketiah starts on the bench.

West Ham subs: Zabaleta, Arnautovic, Carroll, Adrian, Sakho, Haksabanovic, Makasi.

WEST HAM (3-5-2): Hart; Ogbonna, Reid, Collins; Masuaku, Rice, Obiang, Quina, Cresswell; Ayew, Hernandez.

Arsenal subs: Reine-Adelaide, Akpom, Da Silva, Macey, Nelson, Nketiah, Sheaf.

ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ospina; Debuchy, Chambers, Holding, Kolasinac; Coquelin, Willock, Elneny; Walcott, Giroud, Welbeck.

The team news has been announced and we'll start with the home side.

Under the charge of Slaven Bilic West Ham beat Cheltenham and Tottenham to reach this stage of the competition. The Hammers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat Spurs at Wembley in the last round thanks to a brace from Andre Ayew and a strike from Angelo Ogbonna. Under David Moyes, the club are unbeaten in their last three matches, including a 3-0 win over Stoke last time out.

Arsenal needed a late brace from Eddie Nketiah to advance to the quarter-finals, narrowly edging past Norwich in the last round of the competition. The Gunners defeated Doncaster in the previous round, but will face stiffer opposition this evening against the Hammers. West Ham held Arsene Wenger's men to a goalless draw in the Premier League last week and will have their sights set on the semi-finals.

The players are out on the pitch, so we should be underway shortly.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the League Cup quarter-final clash between Arsenal and West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal v West Ham United Live Commentary, 19/12/2017

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