I think my first fear was when I saw Emmanuel Eboue showboating with a backheel in the first half. It ended a sequence of Gunners’ passes that might have led to a chance had everyone been more focussed. Yes, the team were 2-0 up, but this wasn’t second half injury time. And even if it was, the collapse against Spurs last season should have taught the players that London derbies are never won until the final whistle. Yet Arsene Wenger’s players performed like the game was won, with an attendant lack of urgency and focus. I am afraid this is not the hallmark of a title winning team. One that has the raw talent to win the league but self-destructs, definitely. We saw that only eighteen months ago. Few lessons seem to have been learned.

This was an opportunity to take three vital points that was well and truly tossed away. By the end of the game, the stats actually indicated a draw was a fair result. West Ham had as many chances and actually enjoyed more of the possession. But the Gunners were only too happy to give the ball away, often when in promising attacking positions. Two goals away from home should be enough to win any game, however, Arsenal being Arsenal, the lack of defensive solidity was exposed.

They needed to kill the game with a third goal but lacked the necessary aptitude to score it. It meant relying on discipline to control the game and basically kill it dead as a spectacle. This they were unable to do. If the second half looks like a training session, then it means the opposition have given up. Arsenal played it as if it was a training session – the result insignificant – but the impression was always that the game was still very much alive, if only because the visitors’ reputation for conceding costly goals would encourage any team only two goals behind.

You could blame the keeper for the first goal, but I won’t. It was a tough shot to save and although others might have pushed it out, you can’t be sure given the amount of spin on the ball. The second saw a harsh penalty given against Alex Song, but the team have been around the block enough times to know you only make a challenge in the area if you are certain of winning the ball. Song’s was just messy and gave his opponent the opportunity to go down. Would Gilberto or Vieira have made such an attempted interception in such a position? Having turned down an appeal only moments earlier, there was pressure on the referee to give the second decision and he duly did. Arsenal should have been ultra-cautious.

We hoped, in vain, for a late winner in the style of Chelsea or Manchester United, but these are teams that have taken the title between them over the last five seasons, and it looks like Chelsea’s this time around. Despite being paid so much money that an alternative incentive should be harder to come by, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are a more professional bunch than Arsene Wenger’s. A draw is two thirds of a defeat, and this makes next Saturday’s subsequent London derby a must-win game. To fail to win again will lead to a November slump, a familiar phenomenon for Arsenal.

This text just in from our blogger Simon Rose - We think our brilliant football is far too brilliant to be matched so we reduce effort. Of course, opponents don’t need brilliance to match us, just effort. Berks.

Arsenal played very, very well to go two goals up against West Ham, and credit to them for that. However, having done the hard bit, they demonstrated the other side to their game. For the second time in less than a week, there is a brittle feeling about this team. It has to be addressed somehow, but I am scratching my head as to how that is going to happen any other way than in the transfer market. Upton Park in October 2009 gave every indication that this team are not made of the ‘right stuff’. We have seen signs to the contrary this campaign, but not consistently enough to convince this observer that the trophyless years are about to end anytime soon.

Kevin Whitcher is the co-author of ‘Arsènal: the Making of a Modern Superclub’. The book can be bought by onlinegooner readers in paperback direct from the publishers with a £1 discount offer on the already discounted price. To take advantage of this offer, Click this link, select ‘buy now’, and on the next page you will have the opportunity to enter a promo code. Enter the word ‘gooner’ here and the amount is recalculated to £4.99. So, a £1 saving. Postage and packing (£2.49 in the UK) will be added before you complete your order.