Arsenal: 4 talking points as Alexandre Lacazette completes comeback in crazy 3-3 Premier League draw with West Ham. (Photo by Justin Tallis – Pool/Getty Images)
Arsenal battled back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Ham on Sunday in a pulsating Premier League encounter that laid bare the two ‘faces’ of Mikel Arteta’s side. Here are the talking points.
If ever someone wanted an advert for the Premier League, just show them the 93 minutes that everyone sat through at the London Stadium. A whirlwind encounter that toyed with every emotion, it was astounding entertainment.
For some.
Whoever came out onto that pitch for the first 35 minutes were doing excellent impressions of football players. It was uncanny. That is until they had to actually do something, at which point they showed very clearly that they had no talent whatsoever.
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Arsenal: 4 talking points as Alexandre Lacazette completes comeback in crazy 3-3 Premier League draw with West Ham
Arsenal were atrocious. They were third best in every department in a game with only two teams.
The back four were diabolical, the midfield limp and lifeless, and the attack blunt and bruised. Calum Chambers got skinned for the opener, but the goal from Jesse Lingard can’t be accounted for. It was a rocket.
The second and third goals, however, are inexcusable. Mikel Arteta made his feelings on that well known. The entire side fell asleep for a free-kick, culminating in Bernd Leno’s wrists going numb as he allowed Jarrod Bowen’s meek effort to squirm through him at the near post.
As for the third, it’s sloppy all round. The second ball is won, again, with all the space in the world and then the bodies in the box are static.
Alexandre Lacazette’s deflected strike breathed life into a comeback, one that was firmly on after a stirring second half display from the visitors. It was Craig Dawson’s turn to score an own-goal, one Arsenal richly deserved, before Lacazette completed the turnaround with a thumping header eight minutes from time.
As they say, it was ‘a madness’.
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at The London Stadium, in east London on March 21, 2021. (Photo by PAUL CHILDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Apathetic Opening the Beyond Appalling
Whenever memory erasing becomes a readily available commodity, every Arsenal fan will choose to wipe those 35 minutes from existence. They were embarrassing.
Credit to West Ham, who controlled possession of the ball with purpose, exploited the lack of pace behind David Luiz and Chambers effectively and pumped early crosses into the box at every opportunity. They fully deserved their lead.
As for Arsenal, the back four were shockingly bad and those in front not lagging far behind.
It has to come down to attitude since the same personnel ignited a magnificent comeback, so why did it happen? Arteta had no explanation, so it can only be the result of an arrogant state of mind. Either that, or being resigned to the Premier League already being a foregone conclusion.
There was no hunger, fight or urgency, and the three goals they conceded were the least they deserved for it.
Victory would have capped off the best seven days of the season. Instead, Arsenal allowed themselves to be arrogant before kick-off.
The natural reaction will be to see this as a learning curve; a moment that won’t be repeated. You can only hope.
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<h2>Arsenal: 4 talking points as Alexandre Lacazette completes comeback in crazy 3-3 Premier League draw with West Ham</h2>
<p>Arsenal were atrocious. They were third best in every department in a game with only two teams.</p>
<p>The back four were diabolical, the midfield limp and lifeless, and the attack blunt and bruised. Calum Chambers got skinned for the opener, but the goal from Jesse Lingard can’t be accounted for. It was a rocket.</p>
<p>The second and third goals, however, are inexcusable. Mikel Arteta made his feelings on that well known. The entire side fell asleep for a free-kick, culminating in Bernd Leno’s wrists going numb as he allowed Jarrod Bowen’s meek effort to squirm through him at the near post.</p>
<p>As for the third, it’s sloppy all round. The second ball is won, again, with all the space in the world and then the bodies in the box are static.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://www.90min.com/players/alexandre-lacazette" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexandre Lacazette</a>’s deflected strike breathed life into a comeback, one that was firmly on after a stirring second half display from the visitors. It was Craig Dawson’s turn to score an own-goal, one Arsenal richly deserved, before Lacazette completed the turnaround with a thumping header eight minutes from time.</p>
<p>As they say, it was ‘<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-vs-west-ham-player-ratings-4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a madness’</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_113315" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-113315" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1231854403-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Mikel Arteta" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at The London Stadium, in east London on March 21, 2021. (Photo by PAUL CHILDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Apathetic Opening the Beyond Appalling</h2>
<p>Whenever memory erasing becomes a readily available commodity, every Arsenal fan will choose to wipe those 35 minutes from existence. They were embarrassing.</p>
<p>Credit to West Ham, who controlled possession of the ball with purpose, exploited the lack of pace behind David Luiz and Chambers effectively and pumped early crosses into the box at every opportunity. They fully deserved their lead.</p>
<p>As for Arsenal, the back four were shockingly bad and those in front not lagging far behind.</p>
<p>It has to come down to attitude since the same personnel ignited a magnificent comeback, so why did it happen? Arteta had no explanation, so it can only be the result of an arrogant state of mind. Either that, or being resigned to the Premier League already being a foregone conclusion.</p>
<p>There was no hunger, fight or urgency, and the three goals they conceded were the least they deserved for it.</p>
<p>Victory would have capped off the best seven days of the season. Instead, Arsenal allowed themselves to be arrogant before kick-off.</p>
<p>The natural reaction will be to see this as a learning curve; a moment that won’t be repeated. You can only hope.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal looks to break past Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on March 21, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the Right Does Not Work</h2>
<p>Arteta was asked about his decision to field Aubameyang on the right flank post-match. He didn’t explain precisely why, only that there was a gameplan in place that wasn’t carried out.</p>
<blockquote><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/even-3-1-i-said-we-can-come-back-and-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He said</a>: “With the way we wanted to play, it made all the sense for him to play there but we didn’t have the ball. He could not have any influence in the game. I decided to switch them because we were having issues on that side defensive wise.”</p></blockquote>
<p>While it’s hard to be too critical of this particular decision given that Arsenal couldn’t complete anything positive before falling two goals down, Aubameyang on the rarely works at the best of times.</p>
<p>He doesn’t have a strong enough left foot, his diagonal movements are too easily picked up and he isn’t a good crosser of the ball either. It’s been dabbled with by previous managers, just never with success.</p>
<p>Bukayo Saka has found his niche on that side, while <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://fbref.com/en/players/57e3f0c7/Nicolas-Pepe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicolas Pepe</a> continues to show his worth on the right. There will be some tactical nuance behind it, but it does feel as though Arteta is tinkering for the sake of it. Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is to play your best players in their best positions. Aubameyang on the right is not an example of that.</p>
<p>The lack of cohesion in the lineup will have had some impact on the abysmal start, and when players moved into their preferred positions Arsenal improved. Drastically. Thus, you have to credit the manager for changing things up. He saw weakness, sought to amend it, and it worked.</p>
<p>Credit where it is due.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: Calum Chambers of Arsenal celebrates his side’s second goal with Martin Odegaard during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on March 21, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Childs – Pool/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Calum Chambers Keeping Hector Bellerin Out of the Squad</h2>
<p>Flying under the radar somewhat was the omission of Hector Bellerin from the matchday squad. Thoughts that this may have been injury related were shut down, as he was simply left out for tactical reasons.</p>
<p>With almost all of the back four, Arteta can go horses for courses. The centre-backs all boast differing attributes that are useful against certain opposition, while at right-back the three options at his disposal can all come in to suit the tactical needs of the game.</p>
<p>On Sunday it was Chambers’ turn, a move we can dissect as being almost exclusively to match the Hammers’ aerial presence. Then, the option on the bench was Cedric. Arteta sure likes changing things up.</p>
<p>In the opening half and hour, he probably wished he had gone with Bellerin. Chambers was getting blitzed on every West Ham attack. The entire defensive shape of the team was poor, and the Englishman played a big part in it.</p>
<p>Then, it all turned. As Arsenal got better, Chambers did too. And, come the full-time whistle, he was the best player on the park along with Lacazette and Martin Odegaard.</p>
<p>Notable was his excellent deliveries that caused havoc in the Hammers’ area, and his superb engine to continuously bombard up and down the right flank both offensively and defensively. He ended up having a fine outing.</p>
<p>Bellerin won’t suddenly be third choice, and the reasons for his omission will return to <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/11/arsenal-calum-chambers-return-mean/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the horses for courses mantra</a>, but he could learn a thing or two about crosses from his teammate.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 21: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates with Gabriel Martinelli and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang after scoring their side’s third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium. (Photo by Justin Tallis – Pool/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Magnificent Comeback A Sign of Things to Come</h2>
<p>From the first nano-second of the second half, Arsenal were transformed. Before their opening goal the signs were there that something could be rescued from this match, yet it was the entire next 45 minutes that stood out.</p>
<p>It was some of the best football Arsenal have played all season. Perhaps the best of all. Odegaard was the puppet master in front of the West Ham back four, Chambers was a menace charging down the right, Lacazette was outstanding coming off the front and linking play and Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey began to wrestle back some control in midfield.</p>
<p>Exceptional football that is tinged with unshakable frustration. Arsenal have the capabilities of playing to that level, so why must it have taken 40 minutes and three goals conceded to arrive?</p>
<p>There is such an exciting core of players in this squad who will shape the future of this team: Emile Smith Rowe and Odegaard playing as No. 8/10s in front of a Partey pivot – who constantly broke the lines with his passing – Gabriel Martinelli on the left reinforced by Kieran Tierney and Pepe on the right causing damage.</p>
<p>That is a system and team to get giddy about. Of course, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-talking-points-west-ham/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/03/21/arsenal-odegaard-west-ham-transfer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Odegaard’s chances of staying grow increasingly slim as he continues to excel</a>, but throw Saka into that mix with William Saliba to come into defence and Arsenal have the inner workings of a dangerous, and enjoyable, team.</p>
<p>Shambolic 30 minutes aside, that was a true sign of what Arsenal <em>can</em> become. Bring in a well-rounded centre-forward, a new right-back – such as Tariq Lamptey – and bolster the midfield areas with additions elsewhere and it’s an Arsenal side worth getting out of your sofa for.</p>
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<p>There is a long way to go on that front, but it’s taking shape.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
