Arsenal’s bid to a Champions League spot suffered a huge blow after the Gunners were at the receiving end of a derby defeat against West Ham.
The hosts edged Unai Emery’s men 1-0 and the result did reflect the performances of both the teams involved.
Declan Rice scored for the Hammers in the second half after Arsenal failed to deal with Felipe Anderson’s shabby cross.
Aaron Ramsey came on and tried forcing a rescue act but the hosts held on to the lead and ensured that they went home with the bragging rights.
GOODBYE OZIL?
Mesut Ozil’s time at Arsenal may be up.
Much like Isco at Real Madrid and Philippe Coutinho at Barcelona, Mesut Ozil has seemingly fallen out of his manager’s favour. The German last featured for the Gunners in their 1-1 draw at Brighton on December 26.
To look at the number 10’s last goal or assist. One has to go all the way back to October when he provided and scored against Leicester City.
That said, form is not the main concern for the German international. It appears that Ozil – who signed a contract extension until 2021 last year – is not a player Emery would want on the pitch, given how he was left out of the squad altogether against West Ham.
This could probably be the end of the road for the 20-year-old at the London-based club.
IS THERE A CLEAR PLAN IN PLACE, MR EMERY?
The former Sevilla manager got off to a great start with Arsenal and even oversaw a 14-game unbeaten run after opening defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City.
A loss to Southampton gave birth to a new test for the Spanish manager. The tinkering with formation post the defeat has been indecisive, wavering and volatile.
The Gunners are accustomed to a 4-2-3-1 formation under Emery. But lately, a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1 has been a common sight in their fixtures.
A three-man defence has been Emery’s cautious response to the defeats against Southampton and Liverpool and in both the games which followed, the 47-year-old has changed it to a four-man backline through substitutions after the defence showed vulnerabilities.
While both formations have their pros and cons, Emery must be clear about how he’s approaching the game. If a four-man defence is the fall-back option when the three-man defence fails, why keep the three-man defence as the first option?
The former Paris Saint-Germain boss has a lot to think about, especially about matters concerning the back-line.
YOUNGSTERS IMPRESS
Alex Iwobi
Arsenal have now lost three of their last six games in the league and won just two. Ozil is touted to leave the club and Aaron Ramsey – who is still performing at a high level – already has one leg out of the door.
Amid all this, if you are to dig for something positive, one must go no further than Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles – and to an extent – Alex Iwobi.
All these players – who are at most 22 years old – have been the best in their departments. The game against West Ham was no different as these players emerged as the best.
Iwobi completed five dribbled throughout the game and created chances. The Nigerian got dispossessed just once and ensured a pass success percentage of 79 percent. This is not bad given he majorly functioned in the final third.
Guendouzi showed good press resistance and distributed the ball well against the Hammers. He even had to cover up for Granit Xhaka’s horror show and restricted the damage to a minimum.
Dangerous in attack while playing as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 and solid in defence while playing as a full-back in a 4-2-3-1, Maitland-Niles showed that he is one of the best players in the backline. He was not exceptional in Arsenal’s defence, but showed signs of a good future if molded well.
