Arsenal Vs West Ham: Highlights and analysis – Au Revior Arsene

Arsenal hosted West Ham United on Sunday afternoon as they began to say goodbye to Arsene Wenger. Here is the full recap, all the highlights and analysis of the 4-1 win.

The first game since Arsene Wenger announced that he was to leave Arsenal at the end of the season. There was a far more subdued feel around the Emirates than was perhaps aniticipated, though the product on the pitch perhaps had something to do with that. The script was not followed in this one. The Gunners toiled; West Ham United battled. The win was the final result, but the performance did not necessarily merit it.

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Well, let’s not beat around the bush here. The first 45 minutes was one of the worst halves of football that I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Almost nothing of note happened, the game was played almost exclusively in the midfield third, and chances, for both teams, were extremely difficult to come by.

Marco Arnautovic did cause both Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi problems. His blend of pace and power threatened in the wide channels with neither centre-half looking comfortable in dealing with the Austrian. It was Arnautovic that forced Mustafi into an excellent, last-ditch sliding tackle to deflect a shot clear early on. Moments later, Arnautovic then beat Mustafi to the ball, but could not better David Ospina, who was positioned perfectly to deal with the far-post curler that West Ham’s top-scorer attempted.

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At the other end, the only player who looked capable of creating anything was Danny Welbeck. The ball was played through the lines far too ponderously and lethargically, allowing West Ham to sit deep and remain compact and positionally disciplined. Granit Xhaka did have a well-struck free-kick palmed away by Joe Hart. Laurent Koscielny misplaced a header just over the crossbar from a corner. Welbeck also missed a header at the far post after bending another just past the outstretched arm of Hart.

But that was all this Arsenal team could carve out. Aaron Ramsey struggled to find space. Alex Iwobi was guilty of giving the ball away frequently and looked to lose confidence as the game progressed, while neither Hector Bellerin or Nacho Monreal could offer dangerous width in their overlapping runs. It was an extremely disappointing performance from Arsenal and more was needed after the break.

The main point of note was Mohamed Elneny’s injury in the closing stages. The Egyptian seemed to jar his left leg when battling with Mark Noble for a high ball. He was stretchered off the pitch after a long delay and was visibly upset, perhaps with his World Cup hopes under threat. Hopefully, the news is not as bad as it looks.

Nevertheless, Arsenal needed to make more happen in the second period. The tempo of their passing needed to speed up. The creativity of their movement needed to improve. The number of chances they created needed to increase. This was far from good enough.

That is precisely what they did. It was the increased speed and intensity of their play that was most noticeable. It may have been a set piece that broke the deadlock, but the openings that they carved out were far more threatening. The goal came from Nacho Monreal, a man who has increaingly had a nose for goal this season. Granit Xhaka’s outwinging free0kick floated all the way to the Spaniard, whose left-footed waft arrowed into the bottom corner, past both Joe Hart and Arthur Masuaka, who was stood on the post and incredibly actually stepped out of the way.

Unfortunately, they only did it for ten minutes. Aaron Ramsey flashed a shot past the near post. Alexadre Lacazette couldn’t quite get a shot off moments later, and Alex Iwobi got himself in a couple of dangerous positions, only for his end product to predictably let him down. And, in true Arsenal style, their defending once again let them down.

They gave the ball away cheaply in their own half first of all. Then David Ospina failed to punch clear sufficiently. Then neother Granit Xhaka nor the centre-halves could reach the loose ball and block the careering shots coming in from Checkou Kouyate, eventually allowing Manuel Lanzini to prod a clever ball into Marco Arnautovic who slammed an excellent finish into the bottom corner.

The goal galvanised the Gunners. The introduction of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stretched the game thanks to his searing pace, and the tiring legs of the West Ham defenders, who had worked hard for long periods throughout, and they began to find space in the final third. The second goal came from a quite fortunate Aaron Ramsey cross. The Welshman had peeled out to the left flank. Looking for Auabameyang, his inswinging cross was ducked under by Declan Rice, leaving Joe Hart stranded as it nestled into the far corner.

The third came shortly after in a lovely worked goal. Aubameyang, Welbeck and Xhaka all involved. It eneded with Aubameyang poking a pass wide to Alexandre Lacazette who slammed a shot past Hart thanks to the aid of a deflection from a tight angle. Lacazette then added a fourth short after, another excellent goal from Arsenal, with Aubameyang feeding Aaron Ramsey down the left flank, the Welshman swerving his way past Pablo Zabaleta before teeing up Lacazette who smashed home the finish.

Next: Arsenal: 3 players who benefit from Arsene Wenger exit

Those Lacazette goals put the icing on the cake. It was not necessarily a cake that Arsenal deserved, but they did, eventualy, play some nice football to carve open the Hammers. The Gunners now turn their thoughts to Europe and Atletico Madrid. That is the most important endeavour now.

Highlights