Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their best at West Ham, but they did show signs of improvement at the London Stadium.
Nuno Tavares, halfway through the first half in a pathetic London derby, grabbed the ball at the halfway line and began an adventure. It was like something extraordinary was taking place. The ground was rocked by a brief burst of energy. Tavares lost steam and realized that he didn’t know what to do next. He let the ball fly away from him.
He continued on, Arsenal’s second-choice Left-back was a blur of yellow as his run continued in a straight line. His momentum took him into West Ham’s area, giving him a great view of Lukasz Fabiaski kicking the ball away.
It was obvious that the Arsenal left had a large gap. It didn’t result in anything, but it was a problem to Mikel Arteta and his team. West Ham found space on that flank and ran the same passing sequences to send Vladimir Coufal home. It was no surprise that Tavares was eventually caught, with the Portuguese’s position all over the place, when Jarrod Bowen wiped out Arsenal’s lead at the half-hour mark.
It made no difference in the final result. It was not an impressive display by Arsenal, who were sometimes in a daze and seemed to be intent on giving the initiative to Tottenham in order to finish fourth in the race, but it was sufficient for Arteta.
Arsenal’s manager stated, “In England you mean win ugly.” Arteta made a point. This Arsenal version has a more tougher feel: goals from set-pieces and more sturdiness. It also shows a greater willingness to push the clock.
They are growing up, Whisper it. Jose Mourinho disguises Arteta? He could be hiding in a laundry hamper on Emirates’ big Champions League night. Arsenal is known for its irritability.
Arteta was reminded at times that Arsenal aren’t the end-all solution.
As Arsenal held onto their 2-1 lead at the London Stadium, West Ham appeared to snap. Arsenal had made it a bitty. Eddie Nketiah was a lively player up front and had now transformed into Diego Costa. He was trying to get Aaron Cresswell to rise.
Arteta was reminded at times that Arsenal are far from finished. Given West Ham’s Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, the lack of urgency was a concern.
It was difficult to win the game and Arsenal failed to make any progress against a defense consisting of three full backs and a weak Kurt Zouma.
It may be inevitable because Arsenal’s youth. Their most promising forwards, Nketiah and Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard are young, and will have the occasional off day. Arsenal can’t afford to be inconsistent right now. Arsenal must be more assertive in their final third. At the other end, they must stop teams targeting Tavares who seems to be only a second away to do something completely disastrous in defense.
Arteta is worried about Tavares with Kieran Tierney absent for the season. Tottenham will be able to see this game and decide where they want to attack Arsenal next week in the crucial north London derby. Antonio Conte will direct Dejan Kulusevski to do one thing: pass the ball to Harry Kane and wait for him turn. Then, be ready to run when he passes the ball into space on the right flank.
This is a clear weakness in Arsenal’s setup; it is the only area where they haven’t lost their wild side. Everyone knows that Tavares has weaknesses. He was hooked in the first half against Nottingham Forest, January. He was substituted against Crystal Palace early last month. He was fortunate to only give away one penalty last weekend against Manchester United. Against West Ham, he spent large parts of the game just making easy passes, putting his team under unnecessary pressure.
This player isn’t comfortable with his defensive duties. It was so when West Ham scored a goal to cancel Rob Holding’s head-goal. Declan Rice switched play. Tavares was too far outfield, and Coufal knocked down the ball to Bowen. His deflected shot beat Aaron Ramsdale.
Arteta must be concerned about this, especially since Takehiro Tomiyasu, an excellent Japanese player, limped off to his first start since January. Tomiyasu is like Tavares, steady, imposing and dependable. Said Benrahma was kept quiet by the Japanese right-back, and it would have been a big loss to lose him.
Arsenal found a way to win, taking advantage West Ham’s low height with set-piece goals by Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes. To give Tavares credit, he was still kicking at the end. He won a crucial header in his zone before launching a counterattack. He was, in many ways, the most entertaining player on pitch. Arteta could have used more calm, however.
