Kevin Whitcher
Wow. This was an eye opener, and indisputable evidence of how much work Unai Emery has ahead of him. Mesut Ozil was ill, once again, which just goes to show you that vast wealth is no guarantee of a functioning immune system… either that or he was told he was being dropped yesterday and did not want to face the ignominy of starting the game on the bench. You decide. With around £50 million in wages going out to the new number 10 until the summer of 2021, it’s going to be very interesting to see how this one pans out.
So the four that started were Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi and the returning Aaron Ramsey. Rather surprisingly, Xhaka was retained to partner Matteo Guendouzi, with Torreira in his customary position on the bench. Reputedly, his struggles with the English language are a factor in his not starting matches. In defence, the same quartet that began against Chelsea, with Petr Cech in goal behind them. For those looking to make something from UK betting sites who checked the pre-game odds on the likes of www.topratedbettingsites.co.uk, there would have been no doubt that the home side were regarded as having a strong enough eleven to defeat a pointless West Ham.
Yet, things did not go smoothly, and West Ham were the side that took the lead through Arnautovic. Arsenal equalized through Monreal before the interval, and after a number of scares in the second half, managed to score two more, courtesy of an own goal and substitute Danny Welbeck hitting an injury time third.
But it cannot be ignored that Arsenal presented the visitors with a hatful of opportunities due to poor defending, and too often lacked fluidity in possession. In spite of the three points, it was a very disappointing display by Emery’s team. The tactics are built on the twin principles of fast passing to get the ball forward with players under the onus to find space to receive the ball, combined with effective pressing to win possession back or at least prevent the danger of counter attacks. There was very little of any of that yesterday.
Sure there are mitigating circumstances. Arsene Wenger’s players need to get used to new methods, and the incoming players need to get used to the Premier League and their team-mates. But hopes that Arsenal might look defensively better against a weaker opponent than Manchester City and Chelsea were dashed. Although some of the players did some good stuff when Arsenal were moving forward, few can say the same when West Ham had the ball. Too often, it was a case of gung ho Gunners, something we saw too often in the latter Wenger years. Arsenal remain great viewing for the neutral. There were creative plus points, with the midfield players demonstrating better ability on the ball at times, notably Xhaka and Torreira once he came on for Guendouzi.
The difference between the two sides was simply that Arsenal put more of their chances away. But it could easily have gone the other way. And West Ham are in all likelihood going to be relegation candidates. The fear is that if Arsenal play as poorly as this again, they will be well and truly put to bed by a better side.
There is not much more to say. The players are surely not doing everything that their head coach wants. There was a sense of lethargy way too often, a lack of focus and discipline. Once again, the ball was given away in the team’s own half more often than is good for comfort. I am genuinely baffled as to how Emery is going to improve his side’s performance level, because this was not good enough, in spite of the final result. It was a case of Arsenal getting away with it. We’ll take the much needed three points, a win’s a win after all, but this really is going to take a long time. Based on the opening matches, a return to the top four may have to wait for another season.
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