Arsenal managed a 1-0 victory over West Ham. The Hammers were very much unlucky to not have even gotten a point at the Emirates thanks to the heroics of Bernd Leno and some poor finishing.
The Gunners were poor throughout the game as it was sloppy and slow. It reminded me of the end of the Emery era. We struggled to deal with the pace of Antonio at times. The team selection has been a little baffling of late with the exclusions of Maitland-Niles and Gabriel Martinelli. The need to rest Bellerin is understandable having only recently returned from a long term injury but why is Sokratis ahead of Maitland-Niles in the pecking order? Does Arteta not see him as a capable right back or has he not seen enough from him in training? Sokratis offers nothing going forward. With Arteta preferring to play through the wings, that only leaves the left hand side with any sort of attacking threat. Even on the left hand side there are problems as we all know Aubameyang has been deployed out wide. That is not where Auba thrives, he’s at his most potent self through the middle. I would much rather see Martinelli out on the left as he gives you directness and defensive cover. He had some chemistry going with Saka before he was dropped. At the end of the day, Auba is not a winger. Also in the West Ham game Ozil and Pepe were occupying a similar area in the attacking third which left the midfield vulnerable. You can now see where the problems lie.
I would like to see Auba being played upfront and someone who is comfortable in the right back position against Man City on Wednesday. To sum the West Ham game up it was a smash and grab. Be sure to stay tuned for the Man City preview which will be out either later today or tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
