Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
Stats are an amazing addition to the soccer expertise, however yesterday’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham is a basic instance of a recreation wherein solely eyes are essential to make your judgement. The stats may counsel Arsenal dominated, had 20 makes an attempt on purpose to West Ham’s 5, and from that you simply may assume we have been unfortunate indirectly.
Nothing could possibly be farther from the reality. The stark actuality is that West Ham had the very best probabilities. Within the first half Thomas Soucek headed over from shut vary; Jarrod Bowen flashed a shot vast after Aaron Wan Bissaka did nicely down their proper hand facet; and within the second half Bowen virtually made it 2-0, simply failing to make contact with an amazing cross that got here in from the left hand-side as he peeled off the again of Gabriel.
On the different finish, there was nothing a lot to jot down house about. A Riccardo Calafiori shot within the first half, a Leandro Trossard effort within the second which the keeper saved along with his foot, and that was about it. This isn’t a recreation you possibly can look again on and assume ‘If solely’ when it comes to golden alternatives we missed – as a result of there weren’t any.
This was a dismal efficiency from begin to end. Within the absence of so many key attacking gamers, we would have liked these we needed to step up, and people round them to offer help. I can’t be too vital of a central midfielder being pressed into motion as a centre-forward if he doesn’t play that function brilliantly, and I feel there’s good purpose why a proficient 17 12 months previous can’t shine like he did the week beforehand – consistency is a tough factor to realize within the early a part of any profession.
However, I feel we are able to have a look at skilled gamers and anticipate higher. I believed Declan Rice was very poor for the purpose we conceded, monitoring the run all the best way, after which simply letting Bowen go. Gabriel wasn’t nice there both, the 2 appeared to go off the accountability to one another with zero communication, and after Calafiori most likely may have completed extra to cease the cross. A free header from shut vary was a dagger to the guts for this Arsenal group.
You’ll be able to’t concede a purpose like that in our present scenario. We’ve to be defensively strong as a result of targets are onerous to return by with out our attacking choices the best way they’re. However, I feel yesterday went past accidents. They didn’t assist, clearly, however this can be a movie we’ve all seen earlier than after we’ve been confronted with a group who play with a again 5, a compact midfield which we are able to’t play by or round, and who keep organised to do the fundamentals nicely.
I feel it’s a day the place even when we had Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Gabriels Martinelli and Jesus, we most likely nonetheless would have struggled, as a result of these are usually the video games we discover most tough beneath the tenure of this supervisor. They’re Mikel Arteta’s Kryptonite. Possibly that additional high quality helps us discover a approach by in the long run, however I’m 99% sure we’d have needed to huff and puff with out actually discovering any form of rhythm.
We have been clearly lacking these gamers, however I don’t assume that’s an excuse for a group efficiency that was this under par. When the supervisor himself makes that clear, refusing in any method to blame accidents or absences, I don’t assume it’s a controversial opinion in any approach:
I by no means felt that we have been on the requirements or the degrees we would have liked to have extra risk after which don’t enable them to run. I’m speaking in regards to the requirements of the gamers and the group that we performed at the moment, me included 100%, have been nowhere close to the degrees that we now have to hit to have the chance to win a Premier League recreation at the moment. it was nowhere close to.
He was having not one of the suggestion it was about accidents, and it’s clear this was a efficiency which actually irked him. Which is one thing I feel most individuals can resonate with this morning. I didn’t actually have any challenge with the beginning XI, Merino up high will not be perfect however what else is there? That’s a wider challenge, and I don’t assume there’s a lot level in re-litigating January as a result of all the pieces about that has already been stated, however between accidents and a scarcity of switch exercise, the chickens got here house to roost yesterday.
I feel even with these gamers absent, we should anticipate extra from the gamers accessible. Martin Odegaard seems an extended, great distance from his finest proper now – whether or not it’s harm or lack of type or a mix of each of these issues, the dynamism and affect is gone from his recreation on the worst potential time. And once more, squad constructing comes into focus as a result of there may be no person to fill the hole. Final season we may have turned to Emile Smith Rowe or Fabio Vieira, and whereas your mileage might differ on their capability to make a distinction, they have been choices at the very least.
I discovered the Declan Rice substitution an odd one. Was he having a great recreation? No. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that he and Calafiori, each implicated to some extent for the Bowen purpose, have been the boys hauled off early within the second half, however to take our greatest nook taker off on a day like this felt unusual – as a result of a set-piece appeared our more than likely method to make a breakthrough. The actual fact it was towards his former membership and in simply the 56th minute was much more so, and while you exchange him with a left-back who you may have by no means proven any inclination of utilizing as a midfielder earlier than (regardless of repeated questions on it), it felt fairly pointed, reasonably than only a method to try to change the sport. Maybe I’m studying an excessive amount of into it, but it surely wasn’t a health factor, so it received my spider senses tingling a bit of.
The distress of the day was compounded by the sending off of Myles Lewis-Skelly, when a yellow was upgraded to pink for foul on Mohammed Kudus on the midway line. I feel we’ve had some bullshit pink playing cards this season, together with one for MLS himself however this was one we are able to haven’t any complaints about. I see chat a few foul by Kudus, but it surely’s one the place I feel we now have to just accept Lewis-Skelly made the incorrect resolution on the ball, received caught out, and we paid the worth. With David Raya to date out of his purpose, I feel it’s a transparent goalscoring alternative and we’ll need to do with out him for the journey to Forest on Wednesday night.
Raheem Sterling got here on to make zero influence once more past a poor free kick, and Ben White changed Saliba late on. I did surprise why we didn’t see Jorginho come on for Thomas Partey, even for 15-20 minutes. If you happen to’re ready to take Rice off for Zinchenko (who was worse than the person he changed by a long way for my part), I don’t actually perceive why you wouldn’t do this. A purpose might need been helpful, relying on what occurs at the moment, and if the supervisor is indignant (and to be honest he included himself in that), not doing all the pieces you possibly can to alter a recreation ought to be a part of that.
It was a efficiency which calls for some introspection, however one we are able to’t enable to fester with an enormous recreation arising this week. The response needs to be fast, however the low-level nervousness a show like that produces goes to resonate for just a few days at the very least. There’s not quite a bit he can do in another way along with his group choice for Wednesday, however he has to get much more from those self same gamers towards a group who will invite us to interrupt them down in a lot the identical approach West ham did. That’s an issue he has to unravel.
All in all, it was a horrible day for Arsenal, and an amazing one for Liverpool. What slim hope there was of sustaining the title race has all however evaporated now. You might need come to phrases with that prior to now, but it surely’s nonetheless a painful one – significantly as a win yesterday would have closed the hole and utilized a little bit of stress. We let ourselves down, and we allow them to off the hook.
Until tomorrow.
