West Ham United duo Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus have expressed their pride after scoring in the Hammers' 3-1 home victory over London rivals Arsenal in the EFL Cup fourth round on Wednesday night.
After Ben White headed a Bowen corner into his own net to put West Ham in front inside the first 16 minutes, Kudus added a second for David Moyes's side with a brilliant sweeping shot across the face of goal five minutes after the break.
Bowen then put the Hammers in complete control when he rifled his seventh goal of the campaign and West Ham's third on the night beyond Aaron Ramsdale from the edge of the area, before Martin Odegaard netted a consolation strike for the Gunners with virtually the last kick of the game deep into stoppage time.
For the second successive year, West Ham have booked their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Liverpool at Anfield in mid-December of this year's tournament.
Following a disappointing run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions over the last week, Bowen was pleased with West Ham's response against Arsenal and has insisted that they must "beat the best teams" if they wish to win silverware.
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Discussing West Ham's performance against the Gunners, Bowen told Sky Sports: "It was massive. We knew what was at stake. We had the pleasure of winning a trophy in the summer and, when you're in so many cup competitions domestically and in Europe, you have a good chance of getting another trophy.
"We've spoke about how, if you want to win a trophy, you have to beat the best teams, and we've done that tonight.
"Of course, the week we've had wasn't our best but what is done is done. We had to face the opposition in front of us and I think you saw the hunger and drive in everyone to win that game."
"You have to beat the best to be the best and win a cup competition", Bowen added. "For this club and for us players to be in so many cup competitions, we have a real chance.
"We knew this game was a chance for us, we've taken it, and we're looking forward to the next round. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but always dream."
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Kudus, meanwhile, was pleased to take his opportunity in the first team and score his third goal for the Hammers since joining the club in the summer.
"[Reaching the quarter-finals] sounds really good. After our last game, we had to bounce back, and I'm glad we were able to today," said Kudus. "Everyone was on top of their game and we got the win.
"We've got a lot of good players in the team. With every opportunity I get, I just want to do my best for the team."
Discussing his goal, the Ghanaian added: "The pass from Nayef Aguerd was so good and I didn't have to do a lot. I want to say thanks to Nayef for that pass."
Both Bowen and Kudus will hope to build on their performance against Arsenal when West Ham travel across London to face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
Oliver Thomas
