'Garbage' - pundit blasted over bold West Ham claims as Arsenal star branded 'world class'

West Ham United cult hero Carlton Cole and ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara were locked in a heated debate yesterday. Cole suggested that West Ham's front three of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus is 'better' than Arsenal's front three of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus - O'Hara disagreed.

O'Hara claimed that Cole was 'talking garbage' with his viewpoint - despite the fact that the two sets of players have a similar number of goal contributions. But what was said between the two former rivals?

What was said between Carlton Cole and Jamie O'Hara?

Speaking on TalkSPORT's The Sports Bar, Cole said: "Let's talk about Arsenal's front three, you've got Saka - a really good player - do you think he's better than [Mohammed] Kudus? Well Kudus has just come, so I'm going to say OK for now. Bowen, I think he's better than Jesus."

In response, O'Hara claimed: "He's not better than Jesus! Jesus plays for his country [Brazil] week in, week out, what are you talking about? Jesus is a top striker, Bowen is a really good player, for West Ham.

"Martinelli may be having an average season, but Martinelli is world class on his day. What are you saying? Are you saying that West Ham's front three is better than Arsenal's? Honestly, you're talking garbage. You're talking garbage!"

Is West Ham's front reallythree better than Arsenal's front three?

As things stand, the trio of Paqueta, Kudus and Bowen is actually outscoring Saka, Martinelli and Jesus collectively - the Hammers' front three have 19 Premier League goals between them in 2023/24, while Arsenal's have scored 13 so far. The Gunners' trifecta have more assists, though - 11 to West Ham's 8.

On paper, the two triumvirates are evenly matched - but Arsenal's front three is more balanced than the Irons'. Currently, West Ham's primary striker, Michail Antonio, is injured. Due to this, West Ham are often limited in how they can break teams down - they are lacking a tall, physical centre-forward that David Moyes has relied on for creating chances throughout his managerial career.