London – With eight minutes of normal time remaining on Saturday, West Ham United replaced the winner of the Jarrod Bowen match with Evan Ferguson, a striker who signed on loan earlier this month.
If you didn't know better, he almost felt like a movement to make fun of Arsenal. After all, how the chief of the gunners, Mikel Arteta, must have wanted to do the same, without attack options after opting against a mid -season signing.
That decision seemed questionable at that time, but after losing 1-0 against the Hammers at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, he has already triggered the greatest question of all: is the race for the arsenal title?
“It's not in our hands,” Arteta admitted after the game. “For me, I am very, very annoying for the things that are in our hands and we did not do it as well as we could, and that is the performance and the result today.”
The hope that Mikel Merino would follow a trajectory comparable to that of Kai Havertz, the midfielder turned into a striker, seemed fantasy from the beginning, even if he filled the vacant position of Centro de Campo in an impressive way with a late double in Leicester City the end last week. Havertz has a much greater pedigree as a striker, and in any case, his transition to lead the Arsenal attack occurred organically for a period of time in which the team played well, not as a tension in their time of necessity.
Arteta said Friday that Arsenal had been “revitalized” because of the way they joined together after the confirmation that Havertz would miss the rest of the season with an injury to the hamstrings. There was very little sign of that here and, to be fair to the Spanish, he did little to mask his frustration for an action that never coincided with the task in question.
“We have to be [angry]”Arteta said.” I hope we are a lot because we do not reach the levels today and I am very responsible for that, so I am very, very angry. “
The Gunners had a little zipper on the play during the first 15 minutes or so, trying to bow the balls to Merino, which, twice, effectively achieved. However, after West Ham was alive at that threat, Arsenal fought to affirm any sustained pressure beyond the control of the ball in safe areas.
Despite the feeling of opportunities before them, Liverpool's 2-2 draw in Aston Villa in the middle of the week and Arne Slot team not playing at Manchester City until Sunday created the opportunity to cut the gap at the top at the of five points: the gunners were curiously flat.
Maybe the belief was scarce. Creativity certainly was.
Martin Ødegaard lacked his usual cunning, Leandro Trosssard made too many wrong decisions and Ethan Nwaneri was subjected. Declan Rice, rebuked by the supporters of his former club, hooked after only 56 minutes.
Mohammed Kudus caused Arsenal problems all afternoon, none more than when the substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly dragged him right within half of the gunners. The referee Craig Pawson initially gave Lewis-Skelly a yellow card, but that was properly updated to a red review in VAR due to David Raya's positioning, 40 yards out of his goal.
A moment of the second half summarized the discomfort of arsenal. In 79 minutes, the local team won a free kick and the opportunity to put the ball in the box. Ødegaard, on the other hand, fell short and sideways to William Saliba, who later returned to Raya.
The movement met anger and a handful of boos in the stands, which was constantly emptied when West Ham completed a well -disciplined defensive exhibition with a degree of comfort.
The Arsenal gathered only two shots in Target all afternoon, one of a Riccardo Calafiori effort in the first half that Alphonse Areola maintained comfortably and the second a shot of Trosssard cut from the right. Including the additional time, Areola did not need to save in the last half hour.
Arteta rejected the idea that her lack of a recognized striker could explain everything she witnessed, believing that the problem was more fundamental.
“No, no and I completely reject it because I am talking about the standards of the players and the team we play today, including me,” he said. “And that was not close to the levels we have to achieve to have the opportunity to win a Premier League. Today, no. We were very consistent, yes, but football is what you do today and today, nowhere nearby.”
There are still some reasons of hope. This was only the first defeat at the Arsenal League's house in 10 months and Liverpool has a complicated week ahead with City out before a trip to Newcastle United, where Arsenal has already lost twice this season.
However, more and more, the Gunners do not look in a position to capitalize on the mistakes with Havertz and Gabriel Jesús discarded for the season, while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are several weeks back.
Arsenal made a judgment call to not follow a January movement for Ollie Watkins in a more aggressive way, since its £ 40 million offer was rejected, it was not of the demand of Aston Villa de £ 60 million to sanction the transfer of the transfer of the England striker. That decision not to spend the additional £ 20 million, or close to it with a little negotiation, was based on the possibility of interrupting future plans and an objective assessment of a 29 -year -old player, although it was tested in the league.
The evidence is increasing that not signing Watkins, or an alternative, can end up costing them much more than that.
