Arsenal: 4 talking points from crazy 3-3 draw with West Ham

Arsenal battled back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Ham on Sunday in a pulsating Premier League encounter that laid bare the two ‘faces’ of Mikel Arteta’s side. Here are the talking points.

If ever someone wanted an advert for the Premier League, just show them the 93 minutes that everyone sat through at the London Stadium. A whirlwind encounter that toyed with every emotion, it was astounding entertainment.

For some.

Whoever came out onto that pitch for the first 35 minutes were doing excellent impressions of football players. It was uncanny. That is until they had to actually do something, at which point they showed very clearly that they had no talent whatsoever.

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Arsenal: 4 talking points as Alexandre Lacazette completes comeback in crazy 3-3 Premier League draw with West Ham

Arsenal were atrocious. They were third best in every department in a game with only two teams.

The back four were diabolical, the midfield limp and lifeless, and the attack blunt and bruised. Calum Chambers got skinned for the opener, but the goal from Jesse Lingard can’t be accounted for. It was a rocket.

The second and third goals, however, are inexcusable. Mikel Arteta made his feelings on that well known. The entire side fell asleep for a free-kick, culminating in Bernd Leno’s wrists going numb as he allowed Jarrod Bowen’s meek effort to squirm through him at the near post.

As for the third, it’s sloppy all round. The second ball is won, again, with all the space in the world and then the bodies in the box are static.

Alexandre Lacazette’s deflected strike breathed life into a comeback, one that was firmly on after a stirring second half display from the visitors. It was Craig Dawson’s turn to score an own-goal, one Arsenal richly deserved, before Lacazette completed the turnaround with a thumping header eight minutes from time.

As they say, it was ‘a madness’.

Apathetic Opening the Beyond Appalling

Whenever memory erasing becomes a readily available commodity, every Arsenal fan will choose to wipe those 35 minutes from existence. They were embarrassing.

Credit to West Ham, who controlled possession of the ball with purpose, exploited the lack of pace behind David Luiz and Chambers effectively and pumped early crosses into the box at every opportunity. They fully deserved their lead.

As for Arsenal, the back four were shockingly bad and those in front not lagging far behind.

It has to come down to attitude since the same personnel ignited a magnificent comeback, so why did it happen? Arteta had no explanation, so it can only be the result of an arrogant state of mind. Either that, or being resigned to the Premier League already being a foregone conclusion.

There was no hunger, fight or urgency, and the three goals they conceded were the least they deserved for it.

Victory would have capped off the best seven days of the season. Instead, Arsenal allowed themselves to be arrogant before kick-off.

The natural reaction will be to see this as a learning curve; a moment that won’t be repeated. You can only hope.