Arsenal dominated West Ham for all 90 minutes at the Emirates and despite a 2-0 win it still felt like it could have been more.
The Gunners put on a brilliant performance in front of their own fans to defeat the Hammers. Declan Rice scored against his former club once again, while Bukayo Saka closed the deal in the second half.
Other than an early scare in a Niklas Fullkrug open header 45 seconds into the match, it was all Arsenal until the final whistle.
How did Arsenal beat West Ham?
Attacking lineup
Mikel Arteta fielded Arsenal with an overly attacking starting XI. Unsurprisingly, the Gunners were all over West Ham, not only in the opposite half or the final third, but inside the box.
Arsenal’s 28 touches inside the box in the opening 45 minutes were their most in the first half of a Premier League game since April (37 against 10-men Ipswich).
Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard both started in midfield for the first time ever and gave the team a lot of expected creative power.
Eze benefitted from seeing the game in front of him instead of hugging the left touchline or playing with his back to goal waiting for passes between the lines. Attacking the box from behind, he put himself in great places to score – but ultimately failed to convert.
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Odegaard was spotting runs and playing through balls for fun before coming off injured in the 30th minute. Luckily for Arteta, Martin Zubimendi – in theory a more defensive-minded midfielder – maintained the trend and picked West Ham’s last line apart with his passes.
Key Arsenal stats:
- 47 touches inside the box (Ranked #1 this season)
- 21 shots (Ranked #1 this season)
- 2.7 xG (Ranked #3 this season)
- 0 shots on target faced (Ranked #1 this season)
Through balls down the right
Speaking of which, that was probably the main theme during Arsenal’s win. Especially down the right side.
It actually started early on in the left, with Eze finding Viktor Gyokeres in behind. But when the Gunners started doing the same in the opposite side, it was game over.
Their three biggest chances in the game had a similar ‘origin’ in the build-up: a through ball coming from the right (Odegaard to Saka, then Zubimendi to Eze and finally Zubimendi to Timber).
Saka squared the first one to Gyokeres, who failed to take a proper shot off. Eze showed up in the rebound but placed his attempt over the bar. A few minutes later, Zubimendi threaded the needle and found the former Crystal Palace man, who fired at goal and Rice scored after Alphonse Areola’s save.
In the second half, the Spanish midfielder spotted Jurrien Timber charging forward. The Dutchman received the ball and carried it into the box before being taken down by El Hadji Malick Diouf. Saka scored from the spot sending the keeper the wrong way.
Silencing open play critics
Arsenal had been under heavy – and fair – criticism due to a lack of creativity to break defensive setups from open play. However, that has changed dramatically in their last few games.
Their four matches with the most expected goals accumulated from open play this season, across all competitions, have been precisely the most recent ones.
It’s a fresh sight after a heavy reliance on corners and free kicks to get things done the last year or so. Set pieces remain a strong weapon, but not the only one anymore. Let’s see if this trend continues going forward.
Key stats:
- 1.6 xG from open play vs West Ham
- 2.8 xG from open play vs Olympiacos
- 1.4 xG from open play vs Newcastle
- 1.0 xG from open play vs Port Vale
Full-backs everchanging roles
Arteta has been tinkering with positions and the overall structure with the team. After staying wide for most of their last games, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori went back to drifting inside against West Ham.
In return, Leandro Trossard – who operated in central zones a lot against Newcastle – went back to (mostly) hugging the touchline.
There was a lot of freedom of movement within their positional structure as well. That was also a point of emphasis from critics – and justifiably so. Arteta is looking a lot more flexible this season and it’s nice to see him trying out different things and putting his players in different positions and roles.
Arsenal’s win streak goes on and is now at four games. Now, a strugging Fulham await them at Craven Cottage next Saturday.