Morning, everyone.
I expected Mikel Arteta’s team to have a difficult afternoon at the London Stadium, but it turned out to be one of the simplest afternoons the players have had in a long time.West Ham may sing about blowing bubbles indefinitely, but their own enormous bubble broke royally throughout the 100 odd minutes of play. Before the half-time whistle went, West Ham fans were leaving the stadium and heading home. They had already seen enough.
Last weekend, sports reporters and pundits discussed how the Liverpool game may have been quite different if Klopp had a completely fit team to choose from, conveniently forgetting that Mikel Arteta had injuries to contend with as well. Mikel Arteta had an even lesser team to choose from yesterday, with Oleksandr Zinchenko out and Jorginho deemed unfit to start. Three academy players were on the bench: Ethan Nwaneri, Reuell Walters, and Mauro Bandeira. They were joined by Aaron Ramsdale, Jorginho, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, Mo Elneny, and Cedric Soares.
Once again, it was a set-piece that started the scoring, or rather the floodgates. Just over half an hour into the game, Arsenal had missed a few chances before being handed a corner. Declan Rice went up, followed by William Saliba, and the score was 1-0. Saka converted a penalty kick to make it 2-0. He’d missed two excellent chances before being hauled down by the West Ham goalkeeper, so I’ll admit I was concerned when he put the ball on the spot. He obviously wasn’t. 2-0.
Four minutes later, the score was 3-0. Rice took another corner, another defender outjumped the defence, and another goal was scored. This time, it came from Gabriel’s head. The first half had been extended by seven minutes, and we scored our fourth during this time. Martin Odegaard sent the ball to Leandro Trossard, who got some space before curling a shot past Areola. Great goal.
Another score came shortly after the hour mark. Bukayo Saka scored again following an inside right cut. A signature Saka goal. Declan Rice then delivered a fantastic blow. I believed the opportunity had passed when Odegaard and Trossard passed the ball to each other, but as the ball fell neatly to Rice, there was clearly only one thing on his mind. What a goal!
With a 6-0 lead, Mikel Arteta made his substitutions. Saka, Rice, Martinelli, Trossard, and White were replaced by Nwaneri, Soares, Elneny, Nketiah, and Nelson; despite their best efforts, no further goals were scored, but that doesn’t matter. 6-0 is a wonderful result that eliminates the goal difference between City and ourselves. The difference between us and Liverpool is now only one.
Following the game, Mikel Arteta told Arsenal.com:
It’s really difficult to do what we did today against West Ham away, but we’re very delighted with our collective and individual performances, and the score clearly tells the tale of the game. We demonstrated a high degree of purpose and drive, as well as the aggression and courage required to consistently put pressure on the ball. You know they’re going to go direct because of how good we were in every duel and how eager everyone was to play each ball.
It was incredible to completely outplay West Ham. It was wonderful to send thousands of home fans leaving before halftime, and scoring six goals away from home was unusual. Arsenal were, in my opinion, a fantastic team.
Anyone who was wondering if this Arsenal team could perform well after thumping Liverpool at The Emirates had their answer by 4 p.m. yesterday. Yes, they can, and they have.
We now have just under a week till we face relegation-threatened Burnley. During that period, Jorginho, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe, and Oleksandr Zinchenko could recover from injuries that kept them out of yesterday’s game. Thomas Partey should also be one step closer to a return. At this point in the season, having an almost fully healthy team to choose from would be a great advantage for Mikel Arteta, especially because Champions League football resumes following next weekend’s game. Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber are also expected to return, although I’m not sure when. For the Dutchman, I believe it will be later rather than sooner.
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