Allardyce praises rampant Arsenal after ‘brilliant’ first half Hammers showing

Thursday, January 24, 2013
7:40 AM

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admitted his side were “torn apart” by Arsenal in last night’s 5-1 defeat at the Emirates but insisted he had been very happy with their first half performance.

Jack Collison gave West Ham the lead before Lukas Podolski equalised before half time.

West Ham’s first half resilience was quickly forgotten, however, as Arsenal smashed four goals the first 12 minutes of the second half.

Allardyce said: “Sometimes you can’t live with the opposition when they are in top form.

“You wonder what Arsenal are going to be like when they have lost two on the trot, once we opened up they tore us apart.

“My strategy was working brilliantly until half time, I had planned to introduce fresh legs and talent.

“But by the time I blocked it up, they were 5 ahead. It was the worst 45 minutes I’ve suffered this season.”