How overconfidence cost Arsenal against West Ham

After last week’s draw at Anfield, the debate was about whether it was a point gained or two points dropped for Arsenal. But, as Jamie Carragher said in his commentary, there was no doubt that it was two points dropped at the London Stadium.

With West Ham playing on Thursday night in Gent, a slow start was to be expected, and the Gunners blew them out of the water with two goals that were quintessentially Arsenal.

The way they moved the ball, the involvement of everyone in the build-up, and the way they opened up West Ham was a joy to watch; total football.

When Martin Odegaard put away Arsenal’s second with ease, West Ham looked like they were there for the taking, and fans were beginning to dream about closing in on Man City’s goal difference.

The team, however, seemed content passing the ball around, playing like the game was over, despite having such a long period of the game still to play. If anything, it was too easy. West Ham weren’t challenging Arsenal, the crowd were silent, and every pass was reaching its target.

How overconfidence cost Arsenal against West Ham

At that point, the one-touch passing we saw in the opening 30 minutes at Anfield was back on show with Gabriel Jesus covering every blade of grass and Kieran Tierney performing Oleksandr Zinchenko’s inverted full-back function.

The roaming Jesus gave Arsenal extra presence in midfield, but it stopped them from stretching the West Ham back four in the way they had in the opening exchanges.

While Jesus was electric and running proceedings, West Ham’s defence was rarely challenged after going two behind despite not being able to get close to the ball. It was complete overconfidence from Arsenal, and it felt like they were seeing out a game with 10 minutes to go rather than one with an hour still to play.

That confidence did lead to an element of control, with Arsenal having 73% of possession in the first half, but they only had two shots on target, scoring from both, and two off target, compared to West Ham who had two on target and seven off target.

Arsenal’s overconfidence was summed up by Thomas Partey trying to flick the ball past Declan Rice just outside his own box, then stopping to appeal for the handball rather than playing on.

On another day, Partey makes that look easy, but he was off his game, and it led to an opening which ultimately led to a penalty and a West Ham goal.

From that moment, Arsenal’s confidence turned into panic. They failed to do the basics well and the concession of the first goal led to a chaotic showing for the next 20 minutes which continued into the second half.

Despite that, Bukayo Saka had the chance to kill the tie, but his penalty flew wide to the amazement of the Arsenal faithful, and just two minutes later, West Ham drew level.

From then on, Arsenal failed to get their spark back. Odegaard and Leandro Trossard were trying to take responsibility, but the team as a whole failed to click, and West Ham had a fairly comfortable afternoon holding on for the draw.

But, it all began when the Gunners started to play like the game was over too early. When West Ham came back into it, Arsenal really struggled to switch back on, and the penalty miss was a further blow amid an entirely confusing performance and one that the team needs to take a big lesson from.

The good thing for Arsenal is there are only five days before they can put things right, and the Emirates crowd will play a big part against Southampton. But, make no mistake about it, three points are a must, and a big performance is needed to put any lingering doubts to bed.