“He should mark him in reality” - Alan Shearer slams Arsenal duo for mistake in defeat to West Ham

Football pundit Alan Shearer has criticized Arsenal stars Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice for defending poorly leading up to West Ham United's first goal. The Gunners went on to lose 2-0 and missed an opportunity to go top of the Premier League table.

Jarrod Bowen was unchecked in the box and easily found midfielder Tomas Soucek, who finished home to open the scoring for the Hammers in the 13th minute. While many believed that the ball had gone out before Bowen made the pass, Shearer suggested that the Gunners duo should have done better.

Speaking on Amazon Prime Video Sport at half-time, he said:

“When they look at it, [Arsenal will] be really disappointed, Bowen is able to get in behind Rice and in front of Gabriel.

“He decided to mark the space instead of mark the man. There’s plenty to get stuck into despite whether the ball went out or not. If you look at Rice, he doesn’t know where Bowen is. Gabriel does know where Bowen is, and he can mark him, he should mark him in reality.

“He goes to defend the space instead of the man. Bowen is the one who causes the damage and keeps the ball alive and Soucek sticks it away. From Arsenal’s point of view, it is really poor defending.”

Rice had a forgettable return to the London Stadium after making a massive move to the Emirates this summer. The midfielder was partly at fault for the first goal and was unable to penetrate the Hammers' tight defense throughout the game. He also conceded a late penalty.

John Terry expresses shock at Arsenal's tactics after loss to West Ham

Former Chelsea defender John Terry took to Twitter to express his surprise with Arsenal's defending during set-pieces in their 2-0 loss to West Ham United. Terry was baffled to see Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos marked by Oleksandr Zinchenko as the center-back headed the ball home for his side's second goal of the game.

He wrote (on X):

"Why do so many teams allow there smallest players to mark the opposition big CBs from corners ? While there best and biggest players are on the 6-yard line? Zinchenko marking Mavropanos? Saka and Trossard as markers?"

Arsenal dominated the full 90 minutes but were unable to find the back of the net as West Ham capitalized on their chances to win 2-0. Tomas Soucek opened the scoring in the first half before Mavropanos doubled the lead in the second half.

The Gunners missed a chance to go top of the Premier League after Liverpool took a two-point lead with their win over Burnley. They will next face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday (December 31).