Match Preview: Arsenal v West Ham; In Search of Emery’s First Win
Arsenal head into this home tie at the Emirates against West Ham as one of only four teams without even a point 2 matches into the season. With some, especially former players running out of patience already, the hope is that Arsenal can use this match to start getting back to where we need to be (for this season) – challenging for a Champion’s League spot.
Over the first two matches of the season, it was easy to sort of “dismiss” them due to the competition. With Manchester City we were dealing with arguably the best team in the league right now. Away to Chelsea was a crap shoot that could’ve gone either way and likely could’ve titled in Arsenal’s favor if our shooting boots were on. Still, poor results were pseudo-expected.
That’s in the past now and beginning with West Ham’s return, the Gunners have a run of 8 games that they can use to make up for those results.
Still, we’re a team growing and learning under a new manager with a new approach and its still going to take time. I don’t expect to see seismic shifts but with teams that you are expected to get results against, you can build confidence, establish who is a good XI to continue with and hopefully make up ground in the chase for Arsenal’s return to the Champion’s League.
West Ham come in, similarly to Arsenal. Having played two matches, they’ve lost 2. 4-0 to Liverpool and 1-2 to Bournemouth. They are a team with a new manager, loads of new players and working out an entirely new way of playing. They will come in looking to take advantage of the change at Arsenal and right their own ship.
We should expect that Emery will likely persist with the 4-2-3-1. It’s the system he’s comfortable with and is typically what he wants to start with to establish a possession game. However, as he said in yesterday’s presser, he wants to have tactical flexibility based on what the opponents are showing him. He went on to mention playing either a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-3 and that the team is training for it.
With West Ham having issues in the midfield, the 4-2-3-1 can set up Arsenal to dominate play there and hopefully overrun Pellegrini’s men who’ve been setting up in a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 (which they did last week.)
Winning the midfield is central for Arsenal to establish the possession game Emery wants us to play. It’s also essential for Mesut Özil to be able to float and find the open spaces to exploit. It’s why I believe that this is the match we will see Lucas Torreira alongside Matteo Guendouzi from the first whistle on.
Both players can control that midfield with one sitting in to break up play and transition forward (Torreira) and the other (Guendouzi) working as a true box-to-box player allowing flexibility in both attack and defense.
In addition to the midfield, Arsenal should be schooled on the attacking the left side of West Ham’s defense. Last week, nearly 50% of Bournemouth’s attacks went down this wing, looking to take advantage of Masuaku’s weakness playing 1v1.
This is a perfect scenario to have Iwobi out there again on the left. While he still has some work to do in open space with the ball at his feet, 1v1 and in tight situations he excels. If he can attack that space and force Masuaku into uncomfortable situations we can see a lot of those “crack backs” we saw last week vs. Chelsea.
Defensively, is where Arsenal need to improve the most. While there does seem to be modest improvement, as in there is at least a semblance of a system being played, there still remains issues in communication and spacing.
As we pointed out in post-match review in the wake of the Chelsea loss, the Arsenal back line weren’t getting compact enough and Chelsea were making runs through the middle with two resulting in goals.
Additionally, poor communication meant players drifting across the back line without anyone identifying who has responsibility for the player. This led to odd man rushes and through balls that if timed better may have resulted in goals rather than offsides or poor chances overall.
Finally, one of the issues that has been a trademark of Emery is his use of a high line. In the first half of the Chelsea game, that high line was painful to watch, and the Morata goal was a direct consequence of poor play there. In the second half, there were minor adjustments and the players were dropping back a little bit more frequently as transitions occurred.
I do believe that the Arsenal squad as it’s currently made up is a top 4 squad. I also believe that the Emery revolution is going to take time, but this is modern football and, in the end, you will be judged by results. Emery has to get his charges playing for him sooner rather than later and this is the perfect match and opponent to get them on that track.
The Head Coach’s Take (courtesy Arsenal.com)
In our process, we are going 38 matches [in total] against all the teams. Whether you are playing against Manchester City, it’s the same as if you’re playing against West Ham on Saturday. There are three points on this game. It’s clear that every game demands different things tactically. After the first two matches, we have two defeats and we need to win this match against West Ham. The difficulty is in this game because West Ham are a good team with good players and a good coach. They know the Premier League very well and they have a lot of new players. We are thinking in our way and about our work to create our ideas and our system on Saturday with our supporters at the Emirates. I think it’s very important to show them a better performance than in the two first matches. We are preparing well, I am feeling well when I look at the players in training every day.
My idea is first control, but the opposition want the same. With this control, you can be near to win and then know when you need to change the rhythm. I know we need intensity in every moment in the games. This control is to not let the opposition play. For example in the two first matches, we didn’t have the control [enough – only in some moments, but not like what we need to find to win. Saturday is another match, tactically it will be different. It will be demanding and I want to have more control to find the win in this match.
Players to Watch
Arsenal. Matteo Guendouzi. I am a converted believer. I thought the kid was one for the future but through two matches he leads the league in most touches (13), most interceptions (9), most tackles (8) and most fouls won (6).
West Ham. Jack Wilshere. The move away from Arsenal was good for all concerned. He had reached as far as he could go and wasn’t going to feature heavily in Emery’s plans. Let’s hope he takes a week longer to find his former self.
Probable Lineups
Probable Lineups for Arsenal v West Ham (right click to see larger scale)
Injuries and Suspensions
Arsenal: Koalsinac (knee) Koscielny (knee) Maitland-Niles (tibula), Jenkinson (ankle)
West Ham: Noble (back), Carroll (ankle), Reid (knee), Lanzini (ACL)
Match Officials
Referee: Graham Scott (1M 1Y 0R)
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Mick McDonough
Fourth official: Kevin Friend
Broadcast Information
UK: Audio available on Arsenal.com 15.00 BST
US: NBC Sports Network 10:00AM EST
Match Facts (courtesy BBC.co.uk)
- Arsenal have lost just one of their last 22 matches against West Ham in all competitions (W17, D4).
- The Hammers have lost 28 Premier League games to Arsenal, more than against any other team.
- However, West Ham’s tally of five Premier League away wins at Arsenal is surpassed only by Manchester United (eight) and Liverpool (seven).
- This is the first time Arsenal and West Ham have both started the same top-flight season with consecutive losses.
- Arsenal could lose their first three league matches of the season for the first time since 1954-55, and for only the fifth time in their history.
- The Gunners are unbeaten in their past nine London derbies at home in the Premier League.
- Only Manchester City won more points at home than Arsenal in the top flight last season.
- Mesut Ozil has scored three goals and contributed two assists in his last four league appearances against West Ham.
YAMA Predicts
Arsenal 3 – 0 West Ham
Give us your thoughts on this match? How do you think Arsenal will lineup? What’s the score? Agree with our players to watch?
