(Football news) Following their third-round matches, both teams won 1-0: Mikel Arteta’s team narrowly defeated Brentford, while the Irons edged past Lincoln City. If past performance is any indication, West Ham’s chances of adding domestic hardware to their Europa Conference League title from the previous season are little to none. They have yet to add an EFL Cup trophy to their collection, having only advanced to the final once in 1981.

With 20 minutes remaining in the game, Tomas Soucek’s goal put an end to David Moyes’s team’s arduous third-round match against Lincoln City. Despite this, the hosts’ remarkable start to the campaign is now history as they go winless in their last four games.

The team’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle United was commendable, but their 4-1 thumping of Aston Villa, 2-1 Europa League loss to Olympiacos, and 1-0 home loss to Everton—who fought well and took all three points with a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin—have raised some red flags.

Not only had West Ham lost five games across all competitions without keeping a clean sheet, but their inability to breach the opposition defense against Everton was also the first time since 2023 that the Hammers had failed to score at home; prior to this, they had done so in 18 straight games at the London Stadium.

The West Ham fans may or may not welcome the £105 million player back to his old haunts, but juggling three competitions during a merciless winter seems to be catching up to the Declan Rice-less team. Nevertheless, juggling domestic and continental duties hasn’t proven to be a major issue for their in-form visitors thus far.

The Gunners were treated to two man-of-the-match performances from their two best attackers. Gabriel Jesus took center stage against Sevilla, but injury concerns returned for the Brazilian, who gave Eddie Nketiah the offensive reins for Sheffield United’s visit.

The unstoppable Nketiah achieved Premier League treble number one against the Blades, who were also defeated 5-0 by a goal from Takehiro Tomiyasu and a penalty kick from Fabio Vieira. This was nearly two years after he scored his first Arsenal hat-trick in the EFL Cup.

Arsenal only needed a single goal to guarantee a spot in the EFL Cup round four after an early Reiss Nelson winner sent Brentford packing in September. The team has gone 10 games without a loss since the start of the new top-flight campaign, a record only shared by North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Also read: Manchester City thrash Manchester United 3-0