Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said “I’m disappointed with myself” after his side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round following a 3-1 defeat by West Ham.
Arteta made six changes to his starting XI, with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Odegaard on the bench.
The Arsenal side selected produced a below-par display – for which Arteta took the blame.
“I’m very disappointed. I’m responsible for that,” he said.
“We’re out of the Cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete.
“The game took a direction because of the first goal but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win.
“I’m disappointed with myself. We wanted to play in a different way and we weren’t able to do that. Every time we lose the pain is there.
“We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle [in the Premier League] on Saturday.”
Below-par Arsenal dumped out
West Ham took the lead via an own goal in the 16th minute, with Jarrod Bowen swinging a corner in close to goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, before Ben White nodded it past him.
Tomas Soucek had hold of Ramsdale’s shirt, but with no VAR at this stage of the League Cup, the complaints of the England international – making his first club appearance since 27 September in the previous round – fell on deaf ears.
Arsenal dominated possession but failed to break through, and they were punished five minutes after the break when Mohammed Kudus beautifully trapped Nayef Aguerd’s 50-yard cross-field pass before finishing low through the legs of Gabriel.
West Ham’s win was safe shortly before the hour when Bowen collected a poor defensive header from White and fired in a volley from the edge of the area, a deflection off Gabriel’s thigh wrongfooting Ramsdale.
Odegaard slotted into the bottom corner with the final kick of the game, but the Gunners’ 30-year wait to win the League Cup goes on.
West Ham are into the quarter-finals for the third successive season, where they will face Liverpool away.
