Arsenal at West Ham – The good and the bad of Gunners on display

It was a game of two halves which pretty much sums up this Arsenal season: abysmal for the first 45 minutes and world beaters in the second half. For a minute I actually let myself believe that the Gunners would finish the comeback and get all three points.

I had flashbacks to Arsenal’s amazing response against Reading in the 2012 League Cup fourth round when, down 4-0, the Gunners came back to force extra time and in the end won 7-5. It was not meant to be against the Hammers though, as Arsenal and West Ham shared the points 3-3.

The bad Arsenal was on display early on. After watching the ever-annoying Jesse Lingard slice through the Gunners’ defense to score the opener in the 15th minute, I tried to tell myself it was just one goal. Then two minutes later it was 2-0 for the Hammers as Mikel Arteta’s side were caught napping. When Jarrod Bowen scored from a free-kick, set up by the really irritating Lingard, embarrassment set in. Yet, I still had hope and kept watching (if it’s not hope, it’s being a sucker for heartache).

When Alexandre Lacazette slammed the ball into the back of the net in the 38th minute, that hope was alive – the goal eventually was ruled an own goal as it had deflected off of Tomas Soucek.

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Arsenal at West Ham – The good and the bad of Gunners on display as inconsistencies remain in Mikel Arteta’s side

The good Arsenal showed up for the second half. It was a totally different contest as the North Londoners bossed the match. The team that had slept walked through the first half were suddenly playing like world beaters. Martin Ødegaard and Calum Chambers combined in the 61st minute as Craig Dawson kindly scored another own goal for the Gunners.

With eight minutes remaining Lacazette scored Arsenal’s third. I remained hopeful, but in the end, the points were split. Also split was the verdict on the team’s performance.

Throughout Arteta’s first full season as manager, Arsenal has underachieved greatly. Despite the number of poor results, there have also been some inspiring performances. The West Ham match is representative of the Gunners entire campaign: sometimes awful, sometimes dominating.

Arsenal’s last four matches follow the same pattern:

• In Athens on March 11th, the Gunners totally outplayed Olympiacos in a 3-1 win – good.
• Tottenham took an early lead in the North London Derby, but Arsenal came back strong to take the points 2-1 – great.
• At home to Olympiacos in the second leg of their Europa League tie, Arsenal labored. The Greeks won 0-1 and the Gunners only went through on aggregate 3-2 – poor.
• The draw with West Ham – A combination of poor, good, and great.

So, what is the reason for the Jekyll and Hyde that is the current Arsenal team? Some will point to Arteta’s constant tinkering with the lineup as one of the reasons for inconsistency. Then there’s the nervousness when Bernd Leno and the defense continue to play out from the back despite heavy and constant pressure. While the defense has improved, they are still prone to stupid mistakes and baffling decision-making in possession.

As for the offense, the attack has been less threatening. Part of that is down to trying to figure out the right midfield partnership. However, you can’t ignore Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s drop in productivity. You also have to question the lack of opportunities being given to Gabriel Martinelli.

Whatever the reason for the mixed performances, Arteta needs to figure it out soon as his honeymoon period is well and truly over. What are the reasons behind the uneven Arsenal performances?