LONDON – It has long been felt that Arsenal’s absence from Europe this season would give them a significant lead at some point, and Sunday’s 2-1 win at West Ham was. The timing of this game couldn’t have been better for them as it came in the middle of West Ham’s first two-leg semi-final in 46 years, something their manager David Moyes openly admitted he prioritised, while the Gunners enjoyed a clear week. where to finalize your preparations.
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Perhaps they spent the week working on sets? Both goals came from corners launched by Bukayo Saka, the first converted by Rob Holding after 38 minutes of bombastic football so far. (Moyes later wondered if Holding had handled the initial delivery of Saka.) Jarrod Bowen’s deflected equalizer restored parity at the stroke of halftime before West Ham faltered at the back again, unable to deal with Saka’s delivery as Gabriel Martinelli returned the ball through the goal. for Gabriel to go beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
Moyes only felt capable of fielding a recognized centre-back at kick-off, with Craig Dawson suspended and Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on his mind, so Arsenal scored through of their two central defenders. willfully. But it was more than that. London Stadium was subdued throughout, punctuated by a handful of empty seats, a degree of ambivalence explained by a West Ham supporter walking off the pitch full-time, saying “we’ve got bigger fish to fry” in reference to overthrowing it. . 2-1 deficit in the first leg in Frankfurt.
West Ham gave up any hope of breaking into the top four a while ago, and Sunday was their 52nd game of a grueling campaign, 11 more than Arsenal have played. They have won just four of their last 14 games in all competitions as efforts at home and abroad begin to catch up. Arsenal lost a Europa League semi-final against Villarreal last season and finished eighth in the table, with the plus side being more time between games for Arteta to implement his ideas.
“My God, he’s made a difference from day one,” Moyes said. “Arsenal’s improvement this year has been incredible because probably not being involved in Europe has given them a chance to prepare properly for games. While you have a young squad and you’re trying to put together a good enough team… The year past, Arsenal were in the semi-final of the Europa League last year, we’re in it this year, and it became quite a difficult season for them because of that. So, we’re kind of the same.”
Moyes made five changes to his lineup, with Michail Antonio, Andriy Yarmolenko and Tomas Soucek among those stationed on the bench. All three entered the final 20 minutes, but there was no discernible increase in pace or intensity. What was perhaps more surprising was Arsenal’s reluctance to take the initiative. This was a terrible game for the most part, a late-season feel markedly at odds with the magnitude of its ramifications. Arteta later admitted that his players knew Tottenham had won against Leicester earlier in the day, moving them above Arsenal to fourth when the Gunners started, and perhaps the small margins in the game contributed to an inhibited performance.
“You have to find a way to win, and today we won ugly,” he said.
The match turned into a crucial two-minute period when Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale ran off to meet a rising Bowen seven minutes after the restart. It seemed like a rash move that could result in a red card, but Ramsdale somehow missed both the ball and Bowen, who dove for a yellow card. With his next attack, Saka forced Fabianski to convert a low shot behind his first post and from the resulting corner, Gabriel finally scored.
“The goalie is reckless and Jarrod gets there first,” Moyes said of the incident. “If Jarrod had done what I’ve seen hundreds of strikers do recently and maybe leave his leg there and take the hit, I think it would have been a completely different story for both us and Arsenal. The scenario would have changed… It made the referee’s job easier.”
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It’s the stage of the season where results are paramount, and the prospect of Tottenham facing a daunting trip to Liverpool next weekend increases Arsenal’s chances of having a healthy cushion in the race for the top four when the North London derby takes place on May 12. But they will need to improve to maintain consistency in the run-up, with three wins in a row (over Chelsea, Man United and West Ham) following three defeats (against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton) underlining the fragility of their form. . Takehiro Tomiyasu returned to the lineup only to limp off injured, while Nuno Tavares had one of those action-packed afternoons where he seems simultaneously a threat and a liability in almost every passage of the game.
Arsenal’s full-back situation remains perilous, but Holding made up for the absence of Ben White (hamstring injury) by producing an authoritative display at the back and his first Premier League goal. Ramsdale joked to Sky Sports afterward that he “only took six years and a new hairline”, and may prove a vital contribution.
It is also a result that confirms that Arsenal will play European football in some form next season, the Europa League at the very least. They will need a bigger and better team to compete on two fronts, but this one is suddenly moving forward in the Premier League in promising fashion once again.
Reference-www.espn.com