Vladimir Coufal apologises to West Ham fans for Arsenal defeat: 'I would have left early too' | OneFootball

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West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal has apologised to fans for his side’s “embarrassing” defeat to Arsenal and doesn’t blame supporters for leaving the London Stadium early.

The Hammers were thumped 6-0 by Arsenal on Sunday in what was their joint-heaviest ever home league defeat.

The Gunners were 4-0 up by half-time and some supporters opted to leave then, with more going when the returning Declan Rice scored Arsenal’s sixth in the 65th minute.

Coufal has apologised to West Ham fans for the performance and admitted he too would have left early if watching from the stands.

“I’ve never experienced such a big loss and I hope I never experience it again,” said the right-back. “It’s so embarrassing for me and the team when [Arsenal] are passing the ball to each other and their fans are applauding every pass. It’s embarrassing for us, for the fans, for West Ham.

“We can only say sorry and apologise to our fans, and thank you to the fans who stayed with us until the end. I understand those who left before the end too because, to be honest, I probably would have left too.

“I really love our fans and I hope we love each other, so I just felt the need to say thank you and applaud them [at the full-time whistle]. It’s a respect between each other and it should work that way. I try to do it after every game.

“It’s not easy to face up after a defeat like this. It’s hard to keep my head up and look our fans in the eyes because they’re rightly disappointed. I fully understand and hopefully we will move on and repair things in the next game.

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“I don’t have the words, or the explanation, for the performance today. Maybe we showed Arsenal too much respect but we should never play like this at home. We should be right on them, pressing them, keeping them under pressure.

“It’s very difficult. I’ve never experienced anything like this. I will try to motivate my team-mates. Everybody feels very, very guilty today and, from tomorrow, we need to prepare for the next game. I know everybody will work very hard and fully committed to repairing this and to prove to our fans that we aren’t like this.

“For the fans, thank you and please keep supporting us. I felt like I needed to say something for the changing room. It’s so difficult in that changing room right now because we are all professional footballers and it’s difficult to find the words.