Arsenal beat West Ham 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night to move back above Manchester United in the Premier League table. Goals from Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, and Olivier Giroud sealed all three points for the Gunners in the London derby while it pushed the Hammers further down the table.
Following Chelsea’s win over Manchester City, the result sees Arsene Wenger’s side move up to fifth – four points behind City with a game in hand. Here are the major talking points from the game.
1) Referee at fault yet again as Arsenal are denied two clear penalties
Although Arsenal only opened the scoring in the second half, they should have had a penalty in the first half when Theo Walcott was fouled inside the box. The England international, who was also the captain for the night on his 200th appearance at the Emirates, was tripped when he tried to get past West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku.
Referee Martin Atkinson waved away appeals for a penalty and allowed play to go on. But replays showed Masuaku had indeed tripped Walcott in a one-on-one situation. The French defender had even looked up worriedly at Atkinson after the foul and was relieved to see no action taken.
Atkinson denied yet another penalty in the second half when Nacho Monreal was brought down in the box in stoppage time. Sam Byram, who was already on a yellow card, stamped Monreal’s ankle as the Spaniard attempted a dribble inside the box.
By this stage, Monreal was fed up with Atkinson’s refusal to give a penalty after having been kicked around all night. The standards of referees (and linesmen) have fallen and, sadly, it has not been addressed by the Premier League or the FA in recent months.
2) Arsenal’s midfield clicks with Elneny, Xhaka and Ozil playing together
Enough and more has been said about Francis Coquelin’s contributions (or the lack of them) in recent games. The French midfielder was not in the squad today and it was Mohamed Elneny who started alongside Granit Xhaka.
The Egyptian midfielder offers a lot more than Coquelin when going forward. He is very mobile and actively involved in Arsenal’s attack – unlike Coquelin who plays as if he has a fear of venturing into the final third.
Elneny’s mobility and desire to receive passes in the thick of the action was a refreshing change to Coquelin’s limited range and it also freed up Xhaka to focus on finding the wide forwards. For a change, Xhaka played 90 minutes without getting booked.
Together, the pair had 213 touches of the ball – 25% of the touches Arsenal made in the entire game. Xhaka himself completed 106 passes with an 89% success rate – many of which set Arsenal on their way thanks to his clever distribution of the ball.
The pair’s movement was also instrumental in allowing Ozil to roam between the lines and switch sides at will. The German playmaker had one of his best games in recent weeks as he was given the freedom to combine with Alexis Sanchez, finishing the game with a well-deserved goal and an assist.
3) West Ham have lacked a creator since Dimitri Payet’s exit
Although Dimitri Payet last played for West Ham in the first week of 2017, he is still the third-best chance creator in the Premier League having created 74 chances in the first half of the season. Only Christian Eriksen and Kevin De Bruyne have created more.
In the current squad, Manuel Lanzini has tried to fill in for Payet but those are very big boots to fill. He maybe West Ham’s next best creator but has only created half as many chances as the French midfielder who moved back to Ligue 1 with Marseille in the winter transfer window.
As a result, the Hammers have been dire and the game against Arsenal was no different. In all, they created only three chances of which just one opportunity led to a real threat on goal – which was confidently dealt with by third-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Andy Carroll, who has been a thorn in the flesh of Arsenal in recent seasons, had just one shot on goal that was blocked. With an inexperienced 24-year-old ‘keeper in Arsenal’s goal, West Ham will kick themselves for not testing him enough.
4) Hector Bellerin’s fitness is a major cause for concern
Arsenal’s attacking potential is multiplied when both their full-backs are on song on either flank. Sadly, that has not been the case in recent games. Hector Bellerin did have a decent game tonight and was actively involved in a number of attacks but he was far from his best.
His performances in the past couple of months are a far cry from last season when he was the only Arsenal player to be named in the PFA Team of the Year thanks to his five goals and three assists. This season he has two goals and two assists – and he could have got a third if he had put away Alexis’ lob over the defence.
However, the main cause for concern is not his attacking impetus but his responsibilities in defence. Time and again he has been beaten for pace and the first half saw him taking a yellow card for the team when he cynically pulled down Michail Antonio before he threatened to initiate a counter-attack in Arsenal's half.
But a closer look at the squad suggests why Wenger has no choice but to play Bellerin. The Spaniard is clearly not 100% fit following his injuries this season. But with Mathieu Debuchy and Carl Jenkinson nowhere near making the matchday squad, he has no choice but to place the burden on the shoulders of the 22-year-old Barcelona target.
5) West Ham sink closer to relegation zone
If not for Swansea City’s capitulation from 1-0 up in the 87th minute to a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, the Hammers would have found themselves just three points above the drop zone. Slaven Bilic’s side have now lost five games in a row, winning just one of their last nine in the league.
The drop in form has been alarming and arresting this decline has been his toughest task yet. The fact that they are struggling at their new home (seven losses) and in away games (nine losses) shows how far they have fallen since their seventh-place finish last season – they have already lost twice as many games as in their 2015/16 campaign.
In his matchday column on West Ham’s official website, he claimed his team would do “everything we can to send you (3,000 away fans) home happy tonight”. But judging by their abysmal performance, there is nothing to suggest that the Hammers have improved – or whether they can improve.
Survival depends on their performances against relegation contenders Swansea and Sunderland because, if they do not get six points there, they are in real danger of making the drop with Everton, Spurs, and Liverpool yet to make a visit to the London Stadium.
