West Ham lost 2-1 to Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday. The result was a harsh one as West Ham deserved at least a point against the Gunners. Below are five thoughts from the match.
1. Masuaku needs to continue playing in a midfield role: While some say Arthur Masuaku was stationed as a wing-back, I believe he was more of a midfielder in Saturday’s lineup. for West Ham, he played in a more attacking role higher up the pitch, which was better suited to his on-ball skills.
Furthermore, he did not have to defend as much, which favours West Ham as Masuaku’s defending is not his strength. I hope to see the 26-year-old in the same position in the future. However, this further highlights how badly we need a true left-back.
2. Moyes got his substitutions wrong: While Bowen was not clinical in the final third, he still provided pace and was a threat to the Arsenal defence leading the counterattack. He also did a great job tracking back and picking up the Gunner’s midfielders making runs in behind the back four. Ceballos provided the assist on the second Arsenal goal.
Andriy Yarmolenko fell asleep and did not pick him up as he received the pass from Saka, leading to the goal. Also, Haller was brought on too late and should’ve been brought on 8-10 minutes earlier when the game was tied. On the flip side, Mikel Arteta was aggressive with his substitutions, including Edward Nketiah coming on in the 77th minute. Nketiah ended up scoring the winner for the Gunners.
3. Where does Haller fit?: Speaking of Sebastien Haller, many fans were upset that he did not start. While I think Moyes’ starting lineup and tactics ended up being correct, you have to wonder where Haller will fit in the team moving forward.
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I understand starting only one striker against an Arsenal team with heavy attacking firepower, but what about teams that don’t offer the same attacking threat? Will Moyes ever play Haller with Antonio upfront? If Haller is going to consistently be a sub and come on in the 88th minute every game, then what is the point?
4. West Ham must be more clinical in the final third: Especially against clubs West Ham will be favoured to lose against, the club must take their chances. The Hammers should’ve at least scored two goals. How Michail Antonio did not score from a few feet out is beyond me.
The Irons had a couple of other chances to score in addition to many counter-attacks where nothing came to fruition. West Ham fans love Antonio and he is one of our best players, but he is not a natural striker. The likes of Jarrod Bowen also need to be more cut-throat when attacking the opposition goal.
5. Inconsistent performances, consistent frustration: West Ham made only one change from the lineup that started against Newcastle and yet, the performance at the Emirates made it seem like an entirely different West Ham team took the field on Saturday.
West Ham plays up and down to their competition. We can easily say that if West Ham plays like they did against Arsenal for the rest of the season, we will be fine. However, I don’t believe any Hammers fan thinks that is the type of performance we’ll see consistently. It’s entirely frustrating and the inconsistency needs to be fixed moving forward.