Eddie Nketiah’s late strike gave Arsenal a 2-1 win over a stubborn West Ham to give them all three points. Mikel Arteta has seemingly transformed Arsenal into a more resilient side but there is still plenty more to improve on…
Despite sealing all three points The Gunners made hard work of it and West Ham fought valiantly for ninety minutes and will feel hard done by having nothing to show for it.
Arsenal, on the other hand, will feel relieved having won a match in which they played poorly. However, this may not be seen as a negative by the boss, Mikel Arteta, who will be seeing encouraging signs from an Arsenal side notorious of not having the ‘cojones’ to seal a win like this.
In the previous tenures of Unai Emery and in the latter stages of Arsene Wenger’s career Arsenal, more often than not, would not have won this game due to not having the resilience and determination.
This is something Arteta is seemingly working on and although Arsenal may need more signings one of his bigger tasks will be to change the attitude of players at the club who for far too long now have been the ‘nice’ team of the league.
Emulating the style of his former boss Pep Guardiola, Arteta will look to transition Arsenal a more ruthless side capable of closing out these tricky games just like Manchester City’s title-winning side of 2017/18.
1. Ceballos the key
Although Eddie Nketiah clinched the winning goal all credit must be given to Dani Ceballos. West Ham were regimented throughout and happy to sit back in their two banks, so early on it was obvious that if Arsenal had to produce something out of the ordinary to be the victors on this occasion.
The Spaniard did exactly that and proved to be vital as his intelligent forward run was found by Bukayo Saka leaving Ceballos to simply square across to Nketiah to finish in an open net.
This was a feature of Ceballos’ performance as he often looked to break the lines either with a darting run forward or an incisive pass into the feet of the front men.
2. Gabriel a rock at the back
Arsenal’s new signing Gabriel Magalhaes put in another solid defensive display yesterday guiding the gunners to their second victory of the season. Off the back of a man of the match performance in the last match vs Fulham, Gabriel continued his fine form and his impressive start to life in England with another sturdy display.
His willingness to put his body on the line and commanding presence is something Arsenal fans have been crying out for since the likes of Sol Campbell and Martin Keown and Arsenal finally look to have found their man.
Gabriel nullified Michael Antonio and the West Ham attack for the most part and Arsenal can thank him for his superb block off the line which kept the game level at a vital time in the game.
3. New signings still needed
Despite Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign life is not perfect at the Emirates. Asides from the strong performances of Ceballos and Gabriel, Arsenal struggled for large parts of the game and can feel lucky to walk away with the three points.
Ceballos proved to be the creative outlet for The Gunners however you can’t help but feel that extra support is needed. Arsenal are reportedly interested in French starlet Houssem Aouar who would add a much-needed spark to the Arsenal midfield and would make them strong contenders for a top-four spot.
In order to secure Champions League football, the Gunners need to ensure they can secure wins against teams like West Ham who will insist on sitting back and hitting sides on the break. Aouar’s silky playing style would be a much-needed boost for Arsenal and turn them into a real attacking threat with Pierre-Emmerick Aubameyang spearheading the team.