Arsenal 2-0 West Ham: 5 talking points as Gunners go fourth

3. Arteta Keeps the Faith With Same Starting Lineup

Arteta fielded the same starting lineup for the third consecutive league game against West Ham, and we can see why. Every single player produced an outstanding display for the second game running.

The performance was full of commitment, passion, relentlessness, and most importantly, three points. From the outset it was clear that Arsenal was up for it, buoyed by their win over Southampton last time out. The intent and execution from home side put West Ham to the sword in comfortable fashion.

Time after time, the likes of Martinelli and Saka got in behind the Hammers back four albeit without reward, but the threat was constant with Masuaku in particular having a torrid evening. Martin Odegaard again put in a good performance, and is another player who is benefiting from a consistent run in the team.

The back four was superb with Michail Antonio not getting a sniff, keeping a clean sheet in consecutive games to give the team a positive goal difference for the first time this season(!). Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey performed reasonably well without standing out, as the attackers took the game over.

Consistency is the key for Arteta’s young side and on Wednesday night, they showed just what they are capable of when given the confidence to be themselves on the pitch and be proactive in the game. It is fair to say that the Arsenal fanbase has faith in Arteta’s regime and this glorious batch of young players, even with the horror bumps in the road we have recently witnessed.

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