Arsenal v West Ham Preview

Arsenal got their season off to a very good start last weekend with a 3-0 win away to Fulham. There were debuts for Willian and Gabriel and both of them were very impressive. Gabriel started a little shaky, but he grew as the game progressed and even added a goal from a set piece to an impressive defensive display. I thought Willian might have been the creative spark we needed and three assists on his debut certainly points to him being exactly that.

While the performance was pretty good it has to be remembered how poor Fulham were and we will face some much tougher tests very soon. Before our trip to Liverpool next week we play at home to West Ham on Saturday evening and it’s another game we should be winning well. They lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle last week and their performance left an awful lot to be desired.

It’s not that they don’t have some fairly good players, but there’s an awful lot wrong at the club and it’s affecting them at the moment. It’s no time for Arsenal to worry about West Ham’s woes though and we have to try to pile the pressure on them by winning by as many goals as we can. Despite our 3-0 win last week we’re still far from the finished article and there’s isn’t a team in the Premier League we can be certain we will beat.

Mikel Arteta has been a breath of fresh air since he took the reins and the team are gradually improving under him, but it’s a work in progress with a long way to go. The additions of Willian and Gabriel look like they will help us to improve and William Saliba should do so too given time. Arteta is actively chasing more players which was probably one of the reasons for the sale of Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa this week. I really rated Martinez and I think he is better than Bernd Leno on crosses as well as being his equal in the rest of his game which might have been a good reason to keep him, but needs must at times. 

There might have to be a few more exits too if we’re going to raise the money we need to strengthen the squad. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny are probably the prime suspects to leave, but Elneny did well against Fulham last week and might be asked to stick around if Torreira goes. If we can bring in the imposing central midfielder we’re looking for it could be another piece in the puzzle, but it’s not easy in the current financial and footballing climate.

I don’t expect Arteta to make too many changes from the team that did so well against Fulham, but we could see one or two. If he’s fit David Luiz will probably come in which would see either Rob Holding or Ainsley Maitland-Niles missing out and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dani Ceballos come in for Elneny either. I can’t see changes elsewhere in the team and the most important player of all will of course be playing again.

The news of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signing a new contract this week was the best signing we made in this transfer window and it was a massive boost for the club. He is one of the best strikers in the world and our chances of replacing him within our budget would have been virtually zero. However, he has signed on for three more years and he has the opportunity over those three years to become one of our record goal scorers.

Willian is the sort of player who can help to break down a team that sits deep against us with his set piece delivery and his eye for a pass. He could come in handy against West Ham because I wouldn’t be surprised to see them sit deep and hope to hit us on the break. We’re set up a lot better to deal with that now, but it will still be hard for us if we let them score first. I think the news about Aubameyang will spur us on though and I expect Arsenal to take the game to West Ham and hopefully win by a few goals.

We should have plenty to bring off the bench too if it’s needed with Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah all waiting for a chance to prove themselves. The obvious omission of course is Mesut Ozil and I’ve resigned myself to him being almost a part of our past at this stage. Whatever side of the argument you come down on it’s not easy to see the club pay so much money to an asset that they don’t use.

We have a tough run of away games on the horizon with trips to Liverpool, City and United in our next three on the road. It’s going to be very important during that time to take as many points as possible at home starting with West Ham. If we can get past the United game in good shape we have a great run of games which could see us make a real impression on the top four. 

Finishing in the top four has to be our target for this season and a good run in any of the cup competitions would be an added bonus. If we’re going to do that we need to improve our performances and results away from home and look to punish poorer teams at home. West Ham afford us that opportunity in this game and it’s one we just have to take advantage of.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.