Five issues Mikel Arteta discovered as Arsenal and Bukayo Saka batter West Ham United

On Nov 30, 2024

Arsenal returned to action in the Premier League on Saturday evening by recording an emphatic 5-2 win over West Ham United.

A wild first half played out at the London Stadium, with Mikel Arteta’s side going 4-0 up on 36 minutes thanks to goals from Gabriel, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz. But, in stunning fashion, West Ham grabbed two goals back in the space of four minutes.

First, Aaron Wan-Bissaka got onto the end of a wonderful ball in behind from Carlos Soler, before Emerson netted an incredible free-kick which beat Arsenal’s David Raya. However, the game then took another turn, with Arsenal winning their second penalty of the first half after Gabriel was hit in the head by Lukas Fabianski following a ball into the box, with the spot kick converted by Saka to make it 5-2 at half-time.

After the break, things settled, with Arsenal managing to see out the remainder of the game with relative ease. Arteta will have some injury concerns to deal with, especially after Gabriel went off injured following his collision with Fabianski, and Riccardo Calafiori’s second half substitution.

However, the win means Arsenal moved back up to second in the Premier League ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City’s huge Sunday afternoon clash. And here are five things the Arsenal boss learnt following the win over West Ham…

Marvellous Martin

It cannot be overstated just how much better Martin Odegaard makes Arsenal. The Norwegian midfielder was at the heart of everything good for the Gunners, producing a wonderful lofted pass to Bukayo Saka who assisted Landro Trossard’s goal which was Arsenal’s second.

He also bagged a goal himself, tucking away a brilliant penalty to beat Lukas Fabianski. Whilst sidelined earlier this season, Odegaard was sorely missed by Arsenal. It is the Arsenal skipper who keeps things ticking over in midfield for the Gunners and they are an infinitely worse side without him.

There was one moment of concern for Arsenal around the hour mark when he went down holding his ankle, something which the Gunners will need to monitor.

Sublime Saka

Bukayo Saka was also excellent against West Ham
(Image: PA)

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It was Saka who assisted Arsenal’s first and second goals. It was also Saka who won the penalty for Arsenal’s third, scored by Odegaard. And it was Saka who fired home Arsenal’s fifth from the spot after Fabianski clattered Gabriel.

Put simply, Saka was magnificent against West Ham, putting on an excellent performance to see the Gunners past Julen Lopetegui’s side. He has now registered 10 assists in the Premier League season and if Arsenal can keep him and Odegaard fit, the Gunners can absolutely catch Liverpool this season.

More set-piece magic

Arsenal got the game off to a flying start thanks to a wonderfully worked corner which resulted in Gabriel heading home. It was a fantastically put together set-piece, with plenty of movement to confused the West Ham defence, allowing the Brazilian a free header to give Arsenal the lead.

Under Arteta, and set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, the Gunners have become excellent at making the most of their set-pieces. It is an element within a game of massive variables that you can control, and Arsenal do it very well, for which Arteta and Jover deserve plenty of credit.

Warning signs

At 4-0 up, the game looked to be dead and buried after 36 minutes. But just four minutes later, the mood inside the London Stadium changed rapidly after two West Ham goals.

First, Aaron Wan-Bissaka got onto the end of an excellent ball from Carlos Soler to beat David Raya. Then, Emerson netted a stunning free-kick to make it 4-2. It felt as though there was still something to take from the game for West Ham at that point and that Arsenal could be on the ropes.

However, the penalty from Saka settled the nerves and Arsenal managed the second half well – but Arteta may be concerned about just how the Gunners almost opened the door for the Hammers to get themselves fully back into the contest.

Job done

Ultimately, it was job done for Arsenal at the London Stadium. They started the day nine points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, and managed to climb up to second with their win over West Ham.

Arsenal now sit six points behind Liverpool, who take on Manchester City on Sunday. Ideally for Arsenal, the two would draw, keeping City behind Arsenal and Liverpool in touching distance, with the latter having to face Newcastle United and Everton away next week in the Premier League.

Should Liverpool win, they would move nine points clear which would be frustrating for the Gunners following their impressive performance. But the reality is all they can do right now is try to keep up, win their games and hope Liverpool slip up.