Arsenal's Stumble Leaves Little Room For Error

Match Review: Arsenal 0 West Ham 2 - Premier League 09.08.15

I had a lot of confidence coming into this game. Our first match of the Premier League season, coming off an impressive pre-season and a new sense of optimism and expectancy. Before the game I was of the opinion that this was our best chance since the Invincibles season to bring the league trophy home. After ninety minutes against West Ham, I was left shaken and crestfallen as we gifted our London rivals three points. Arsenal looked as far from being title challengers as they have ever been.

Hector Bellerin didn’t make the squad, presumably because of an injury, which left Debuchy to take his place at right back and Chambers on the bench. The only other debatable position was at striker, where Wenger plumped for Giroud over Walcott. There was also a welcome surprise on the bench in the form of Alexis, who we’d been led to believe was at least ten days from fitness.

We made a reasonable start to the game, without looking overly threatening. West Ham lined up in a disciplined 4-4-2 with two imposing central midfielders to break up the play. From the get go, things were slow and cagey, much unlike the hungry and determined Arsenal side that beat Chelsea in the Community Shield. There were barely any chances of note at either end, with Ramsey coming closest with a deflected shot onto the bar. We looked very lacklustre and our slow start was punished just before half time.

West Ham were given a dubious free kick ten yards outside our area and when it was swung in, we succumbed to the familiar foe of a header from a set piece. Arsenal fans will not be surprised by conceding a goal from a dead ball situation, but what will have shocked them was seeing Mertesacker dominated in the air by Kouyate and, even more incredibly, the calm, reliable Petr Cech going full Almunia. The man who was supposed to bring a solid, dependable base to the team’s ‘spine’ came flying out and missed everything with his superman punch, allowing the Hammers to take the lead with their first attempt on target. It floored me, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen Petr Cech do something so rash and ill-advised and yet the clocks were turned back to the days of dodgy keeper after dodgy keeper costing us countless goals from wild forays off their line.

Mesut Özil nearly provided an instant leveller with a brilliant run that just lacked a clinical finish, but we went in trailing at half time. Not an ideal start, but certainly not an irretrievable situation, provided the players pulled their fingers out in the second half…

However, their fingers remained firmly in place. The second half was possibly even more depressing the first, as the team looked flatter and flatter. There was no spark, no urgency and our passing was piss-poor. We gave the ball away all over the shop and never built up any pressure on the West Ham defence, which sat comfortably on the edge of their area and easily repelled our blunt attacking force. Arsenal looked lost and not long into the second half, so was the game.

Their second goal summed up the day really. Chamberlain lost possession on the edge of his own box, gave up chasing Zarate who’d robbed him and then watched on as none of his team mates pressured the West Ham forward, allowing a free shot on goal. The attempt was nothing special, but unbelievably, for the second time in the game, Cech dropped a clanger, stepping the wrong way and then half heartedly falling after the ball as it trickled in. He at least had the good grace to put a hand up in apology, but it did nothing to help undo the damage that had been caused. Our attack looked barely capable of testing their keeper, never mind scoring a goal and a two goal deficit looked certain to kill the game and so it proved.

The introduction of Walcott and Alexis did nothing to help our cause, with Alexis look a million miles from match fitness. Theo, as usual, hovered around on the periphery of the game waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen. What few chances we had we squandered, in particular by Giroud, who looked a shadow of the player that impressed so much last season. West Ham gleefully accepted the gifts we presented them with and shut the door in our faces to bring us crashing down to earth.

I’m not saying this defeat is terminal to our title hopes, but it is quite a big blow early on. Man United won the league a few years back after an opening day defeat, but not in the same sort of manner. We were at home, a place where we’ve lost very few games over the past few years and against a side that has been effectively a banker for points each season. Realistically you can’t expect to win the league once you’ve suffered many more than five defeats and to fall at the first hurdle like that is a real kick in the teeth and leaves us with little room for error over the rest of the season.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Cech, Debuchy (Alexis 67’), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal (Y), Coquelin (Walcott 58’), Ramsey, Chamberlain, Özil, Cazorla, Giroud
Subs
Ospina, Chambers, Gabriel, Walcott, Alexis, Arteta, Gibbs

West Ham (4-4-2)
Adrian, Tomkins (Y), Reid, Ogbonna (Y), Cresswell, Oxford (Nolan 79’), Kouyate, Noble (Y), Payet, Sakho (Maigo 90’), Zarate (Jarvis 63’)
Subs
Randolph, Nolan, Jarvis, Collins, Maiga, Poyet, Lanzini

Player Ratings

Cech - 2/10 - After a promising pre-season, a nightmare debut, two terrible errors
Debuchy - 4/10 - Looks very slow and could be a weak spot this season
Mertesacker - 3/10 - Poor for their opener, allowed a free shot for the second
Koscielny - 3/10 - Looked uncharacteristically flustered and uncomfortable against Sakho
Monreal - 4/10 - Gave the ball away a few times and didn’t provide much up front
Coquelin - 3/10 - Poor, overplayed his role and wasted possession a number of times
Ramsey - 3/10 - Couldn’t pass for toffee in this game, sloppy and ineffectual
Chamberlain - 4/10 - Looked our brightest player, but also had a big hand in their second
Özil - 4/10 - Pretty anonymous, another unable to make an impact
Cazorla - 4/10 - Looked a better when moved to the middle but still offered little of note
Giroud - 2/10 - Had an absolute stinker, looked lost and weak, bullied by the centre backs
Subs
Walcott - 3/10 - I barely registered he was on the pitch
Alexis - 3/10 - Completely unfit to play, shouldn’t have been in the squad

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