Arsenal returned to winning ways in a hard fought 1-3 victory over West Ham. The match was a good test of physical strength and aerial prowess and Arsenal failed both but crisp finishing secured the win.

 

Deja Vu Avoided

Nearly every movement was created by the Gunners but West Ham took the lead due to a poor defensive error from Ramsey and a top class finish from Diame. West Ham was a threat at every set piece and had the physical strength to barge forward on the counter that Arsenal could not cope with. We responded with Giroud’s first BPL and second Arsenal goal where he slid to toe poke an excellent low cross from Podolski. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the only good cross we had for the entire the game.

The second half saw dominance from West Ham. Arsenal was completely pegged in their own half and were under severe pressure both in the air and on the ground. There were plenty of misplaced passes and unforced errors. It did look like West Ham would lead again. But Wenger worked an unusual substitution magic. Wenger usually doesn’t substitute before the 66th minute (or exactly 2/3s of the match). This time Santos came on early and Walcott thereafter.

 

It was a rare substitution master stroke from Wenger that changed the game.

 

It was a rare substitution master stroke from Wenger that changed the game. Santos provided better physical cover on the left. Gibbs had an off colour game because he couldn’t handle the strength of West Ham’s forwards. Santos coped with that adequately.

Walcott used his pace and excellent finishing well when Giroud sent him an excellent assist. Calm and precise finishing saw Walcott bend the ball just between the keeper’s fingertips and the post. After the second goal, the game wasn’t settled yet. West Ham still looked threatening every time they broke forward but a sweet, sweet long distance looping shot from Cazorla settled the nerves and broke West Ham’s otherwise solid display. There are a few takeaways from this.

 

Possession Means Nothing

Arsenal fans have a habit of quoting possession figures. “We had 70% of the ball! It was all us.” But what does posession actually mean? It means nothing besides the time you spend on the ball. A saw a tweet fly past that West Ham only had 37 seconds on the ball before they scored. So let me put it this way – with a goal apiece on the first half, it took Arsenal 31.05 minutes and 8 attempts to net a goal. Compare that to West Ham’s 13.95 minutes and 3 attempts. Also, ask any neutral – West Ham looked more likely to notch a second even though they were supposedly on the back foot. So what did possession do for us? A waste of energy.

A club like Arsenal easily plays over 50 games a season. Efficiency is important because it allows you to better optimize energy use and thus last the entire season. There is no pride in taking a lot more effort to produce the same output of 3 points. It’s like bragging about working overtime to get your job done when your colleagues finished the same task and got home early.

 

Physicality Is Still An Issue

The reason why Arsenal held so much promise in the opening games was physicality in the middle of the park. Diaby was a huge factor and he was flanked adequately by Arteta and Cazorla who were able to hold their own even against bigger players. Diaby was the bull that could charge through when the opposition put up a blockade. Unfortunately, we don’t have a replacement for that. Maybe, Wilshere and Frimpong can be the bull dogs for Arsenal but I am not comfortable with resting a crucial burden on 19 year olds. Ramsey slotted into that role today and did no better than Le Coq did against Olympaicos. In fact, some would argue he did worse. Ramsey is made for the CAM role. Our options covering Arteta and Diaby are Le Coq, Frimpong and Wilshere. I don’t consider that depth.

 

You need a good first touch, strong physique and speed to excel in the Premier League.

 

You need a good first touch, strong physique and speed to excel in the Premier League. The great Arsenal sides had that. Our current side has a little more of that than last season’s but it is not sufficient. Per is doing a great job but we have no cover for him (Kosc and TV5 are ‘hamster-styled’ CBs). Diaby is a good (not great) CM but again no cover. Giroud is an excellent centre forward but again our only physical cover is Chamakh who must be completely devoid of confidence at this point. This Arsenal squad is an improved squad but the team is no where close to being contenders. We need physically stronger players to do well in the EPL.

 

Aerial Weakness: Not Just Height

Early in the second half, you might have mistaken the game for a volleyball match. The ball was up in the air nearly all the time as West Ham fully exploited Arsenal’s weakness. Yes, they had taller players but it was not just height that mattered. Many times, Per lost out to a shorter opponent in the air because he timed his jump wrong and was slightly off in position. This was true for many other Arsenal players. The only Arsenal player who seemed to understand how to handle aerial balls was Giroud.

 

It’s more about anticipation and timing rather than hiring a hundred Mertesackers.

 

Arsenal was trying too hard to get in the air to clear high balls. Maybe it was panic but we were usually not out jumped. Instead, we were jumping far too early and a yard out. That made things even easier for West Ham.  This is a training issue that has to be sorted. It’s something that can be worked on and its more about anticipation and timing rather than hiring a hundred Mertesackers.

 

Giroud’s Gain, Gervinho’s Loss

Wenger finally played Giroud right – in the starting line up and not as a late substitute. His hand was probably forced. Giroud was brought in for set piece defensive cover especially since the only tall chaps we have are Per, CJ and Giroud. OG12 gave Arsenal crucial space in going forward. His presence, runs and one touch passes allowed Arsenal to go forward against a stronger defense that was well packed. Giroud may not be a good choice against light and fast defenses (do you actually find any like these in the league besides Arsenal?) but he is excellent against defenses like the one we faced today.

 

Giroud’s presence, runs and one touch passes created space for his team mates against a stronger defense that was well packed

 

It is also pretty clear that Gervinho cannot play on the right. He has never shone playing there. His best performances come from the left and center  I think it is time to give Podolski a rest and bring Gervinho back to the left allowing either Ox or Walcott to resume service on the right. Podolski has been a very hard worker who has chipped in a healthy number of goals and assists but the German looks like he needs a break. Playing Gervinho on the right is a waste of time anyways.

 

Conclusion

It was a good win against a team that is built to exploit our weakness. Fat Sam knows how to do it and there were multiple times in the match that you felt that West Ham was the Bolton of old. While we were poor technically in the air and our players could barely cope with the strength of the those in claret and blue, our finishing at key moments made things count.

One can only hope that we become more efficient with our build up play and stop sending crosses to the crowd. To do well over a long season you not only have to be better, you have to be smarter and more efficient.

 

Ratings

GK	V. Mannone	7.5	Had a good game. One bad error but he did come off his line and made saves that kept us in the game. Was hardly given any aerial cover from the defense.
RB	C. Jenkinson	7.5	Another solid game. One of our most consistent and improved players this season. Sagna must fight to get his spot back.
CB	P. Mertesacker	8	A rock solid performance. Made a game saving recovery when the offside flag stayed down for no good reason. But has to work on his jumps.
CB	T. Vermaelen	7.5	Didn’t put a foot wrong and put his body on the line blocking shots. But couldn’t win any aerial duels.
LB	K. Gibbs	6	Was out muscled and bullied off the ball. Crossing was terrible. Rightly taken off early.
CM	M. Arteta	7.5	Hustled and did well against opponents twice his size.
CM	A. Ramsey	6	Couldn’t handle defensive duties. Error lead to first goal. Was good going forward but that was not his primary role tonight.
AM	S. Cazorla	9	Man of the match. Excellent going forward, held his own against 2-3 defenders and even dropped back to win tackles. Not forgetting his beauty of a goal.
RF	Gervinho	6	Did nothing of note and wasn’t sufficiently involved. Looked unnatural on the right.
CF	O. Giroud	8	Good link up play. Opened his EPL account and had an assist for Walcott’s goal. Made space for us in the final third.
LF	Podolski	7.5	Solid effort and ran his heart out. Provided the only sound cross Arsenal had for the entire match.
SUB	A. Santos	7	Did his job in providing physical cover but didn’t really go forward and his defensive work was adequate but not great.
SUB	T. Walcott	8	Did exactly what he should. Cut in from the right and calmly shoot with precision. Walcott should note that it is easier to cut in and score than play as an out and out CF.
SUB	L. Koscielny	7	Brought on to secure the win and won all the tackles he made. But the game was already sealed up when he got on.