Arsenal 2-0 West Ham: 4 major positives for Arteta’s side

2. Arsenal Dominated the Midfield Without Being Brilliant

Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka had good games. They didn’t have great games, nor did they have poor games, they had good games.

And even despite not being at their best they managed to control a midfield featuring one of the finest double pivots in the division. Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice dovetail excellently, offering a formidable shield in front of the defence with threat in transition and in the opposition box.

Rice in particular is a magnificent carrier of the ball in transition. He showed splashes of that against Arsenal, but was mostly left defending his box.

Xhaka was everywhere on Wednesday. Handed this freer No. 8 role with Partey as the single pivot – this game was a lot more 4-3-3 than it may have looked like – he pressed high, intercepted and tackled all over the pitch. But he still wasn’t great.

Slowing down moves with the usual split second too long on the ball, that can be put down to match sharpness even if history suggests it isn’t. Just that touch too sluggish in key moments when the pass was on, he nonetheless owned the midfield alongside Partey.

It was visibly noticeable with each minute of the game that Partey was getting his confidence back. Like that Simpsons sketch where Bart freeze frames Ralph’s heart breaking, Partey gradually put his stamp on proceedings and got across the turf with more elegance.

Yet he too wasn’t at his best. When neither of your central midfielders are nearing their peak form but can dominate two of the best in the division, the you know something is going right structurally.

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