"Dyed his hair like Rashford, now he plays like him", "Did absolutely nothing" - Arsenal fans slam star for his performance in loss to West Ham

Arsenal fans have criticized Bukayo Saka for his performance in the club's 2-0 defeat to West Ham United.

The Gunners hosted the Hammers at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday, December 28, on Matchday 19 of the Premier League season. Tomas Soucek struck in the 13th minute, with the goal being given after a lengthy VAR delay due to doubts over whether the ball went out of play.

Konstantinos Mavropanos, playing against his former side, added a second for West Ham in the 55th minute. Said Benrahma won a penalty in stoppage time, but David Raya guessed right and dived to his left to deny the forward with an excellent save. It didn't matter, though, as the visitors came away with all three points.

Several players endured an off-night for Arsenal, who struggled to break down a disciplined West Ham side defending in numbers in and around the box. Among the hosts' underperformers was Saka, who completed just the one of his five attempted dribbles and missed two big chances. He also lost possession a whopping 19 times.

This in turn saw him incur the wrath of Gooners on X (formerly Twitter), with one of them writing:

"Saka did absolutely nothing, all the Arsenal attackers needs to work on finishing #ARSWHU"

Another tweeted that Saka's new haircut resembled that of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. Rashford has struggled so far this season, recording just two goals and five assists in 23 matches across competitions.

"Saka dyed his hair like Rashford now he plays like him...," the fan wrote.

Here are some more fan reactions:

Saka played all 90 minutes of Arsenal's contest against West Ham. He took nine shots, five of which were blocked, while three were on target and one hit the woodwork. The Englishman also won just five of his 15 duels and found a teammate with only two of his eight crosses.

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Arsenal cede top spot to Liverpool as Premier League season reaches halfway stage

Nineteen matches in, and the top of the Premier League makes for interesting reading. The race for the title could potentially be a four-horse affair involving Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The Gunners, however, missed the chance to sit atop the standings at the halfway point of the campaign with their defeat to West Ham United. They are now second with 40 points, two behind Liverpool, who beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Matchday 19.

Villa are third with 39 points, while City are fourth with 37 and a game in hand.

Against the Hammers, Arsenal did conjure some good link-up play, but ultimately lacked incision and a cutting edge in the final third. They attempted 30 shots, but got only eight of those on target. Mikel Arteta's men also missed all five big chances they created.

Part of their defeat also had to do with some excellent work in goal by visiting custodian Alphonse Areola, who made eight saves. West Ham's defensive discipline deserves credit as well.

However, Arsenal will be disappointed with the result, and will hope to bounce back away to Fulham on New Year's Eve.