Why Arsenal’s wingers have a key role to play against West Ham

West Ham got a taste of Arsenal’s 21-year-old superstars when the wide men each grabbed a goal at Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day.

That night, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were on fire despite just returning from the World Cup and lining up for the first time this season without Gabriel Jesus, the man who had unlocked their potential and taken the Arsenal attack to another level.

Nor was it the first time the pair showed up against West Ham. The goal that night was Martinelli’s third against them, including his first-ever Premier League goal, when interim manager Freddie Ljungberg handed him his first league start in 2019.

Saka got his first goal against the Hammers that night after he assisted home and away last season, as Arsenal ran out winners on both occasions and will hope to do the double again this term.

Ahead of the game, Saka spoke of the team’s disappointment at drawing with Liverpool and fired warning signs to West Ham: “The boys were really disappointed after the game because we all wanted to win. But we can’t change that so we have to switch the focus to Sunday against West Ham. It’s really important – we all know that – so we’ll try and be ready for the game to give our best and get the three points.”

With Saka already fired up for the game and Martinelli coming off a goal and an assist performance, the wide areas could be a huge threat for Arsenal again, particularly the left.

Vladimír Coufal is very much an overlapping, attacking fullback, whose best actions tend to come in the final third, but this season he has had to spend much more time than ever defending deep due to West Ham’s inability to retain possession, and his below average passing ability (65% completion rate) makes him a target for the press, and hungry wingers.

By contrast, Aaron Cresswell has been able to get forward more this season and has an 83% pass completion rate. However, that does lead to him vacating his defensive third more, and with Saka and Martin Ødegaard linking in that space, it could be costly.

Going into the game, Saka sits on 12 goals and ten assists, with Martinelli on 14 goals and four assists, but they are also armed with Gabriel Jesus supporting them, who has three goals in his last two starts for Arsenal and is looking very comfortable on the ball.

Behind them, Ødegaard has notched ten goals and seven assists and will be determined to rewrite the headlines after a disappointing showing at Anfield.

It will be the pairings of Martinelli and Jesus, and Saka and Ødegaard that can cause the damage. Each pairing overloads teams at either side of the pitch and stretches defenders, and on a big pitch, West Ham’s lack of cohesion could play right into Arsenal’s hands.

If Arsenal click early, they could do real damage to West Ham.