Alese named in matchday squad in West Ham's loss to Champions League-chasing Arsenal

Young central  defender of Nigerian descent Ajibola Alese was on the bench in West Ham's 2-1 home defeat against Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday evening.

An England youth international, Alese is a product of the West Ham academy and captains the development squad. 

Arsenal went ahead in the 38th minute through Rob Holding who headed home the ball from a corner kick in the first half before Jarrod Bowen equalised just before the halftime break when he controlled the ball beautifully and fired the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale who had made a superb save moments earlier.

England international Bukayo Saka, who turned down the overtures of the Nigeria Football Federation to play for his country of origin, was booked in the second half.
 
Gabriel scored in the 54th minute of the match with another header as his compatriot Gabriel Martinelli found him in the West Ham United 18-yard box to restore the Gunners' lead.

Antonio came off the bench for his 400th league appearance and that galvanized the teammates with an attempt at goal shortly though Mohamed Elneny found Eddie Nketiah for an Arsenal chance at the opposite end.

Arsenal held on to their priceless lead and leapt into the top four again on 63 points, leapfrogging  Tottenham Hotspur who defeated Leicester City  3-1 earlier in the day.