Arsenal’s miserable night in east London highlighted some glaring problems in the Gunners’ squad that Mikel Arteta may want to address before too late this season Arsenal were convincingly beaten by London West rivals Ham on Wednesday night, in what was surely the worst performance of the season for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Hammers won 3-1 and never looked like losing that Carabao Cup tie as they progressed to the last eight.
An own goal from Ben White put the Hammers ahead, before strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen ended the match as a contest.
Martin Odegaard provided a late consolation for the visitors.
While being knocked out of the League Cup will sting for opponents like Arteta, competition is always low on his priorities.
What worries the Gunners coach the most is the poor performance of some fringe players.
Regulars such as Odegaard, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice all started the match from the bench.
Replacing them are Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira and Jorginho.
Kiwior is the only one of the aforementioned quartet who can claim any credit, with a number of neat passes showing the technical qualities the Poland international possesses.
The remaining four are all below average, with Jorginho not developing the quality that is often seen in Rice and Thomas Partey.
Trossard and Nelson both tried to make a significant impact on the match, and were both ultimately caught before the final whistle.
Vieira failed to capitalize on the momentum gained from last Saturday’s goal and looked lost in midfield for much of the match.
Some of the more optimistic Arsenal fans might see this result as a setback in a second-tier league and move on.
However, Arteta knows the importance of the entire team, not a single starting lineup, when fighting for the championship.
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Comment below Arsenal were on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat away at West Ham Last season’s title charge capitulated around the time that Rob Holding had to replace an injured Saliba.
Were any similar event to occur with one of Arsenal’s starters this season, the evidence presented from the potential replacements on Wednesday evening does not bode well for their ambitions.
During his post-match media duties, Arteta was asked if bringing on names like Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli was a deliberate attempt to send a message to the under-performing deputies.
He insisted that he had “no message to send.
” The Gunners boss did however, admit he was “very disappointed” and called for his players to rally, putting the result behind them for the next game.
“We have to use this pain for Saturday – that is for sure,” Arteta explained.
“We have to use him in the best way possible to go to Newcastle and win.
Arteta defends struggling stars in characteristic style, asserts lack of minutes playing could be an excuse for their poor performance, but don’t expect that.
” take a look at many of these fringe players in the squad against Newcastle on Saturday night.
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