It was really tough to decide whether both the teams were really good or bad.
First half was dominated by West Ham, they took a 3-0 lead, pressing and testing us every now and then. On the other hand, 2 of those goals were sloppy and on a better day, could have been avoided. We tried pulling our sh*t together and scored one before going to the half time.
Second half was one of the best display by Arsenal in recent times. Ødegaard took control of things, Laca registered himself on the scoresheet and we scored 2 more. Hammers decided it’s time to go defensive and it cost them. Øde was brilliant, Laca fought for everything and Partey, although sloppy at times, improved his game.
It looked like 2 different matches from two different halves, for both the teams. If we keep playing like we did in second half, we would be in a much better position coming season. I believe we gonna keep Øde either on loan or a buy for next season.
Things that worried me during the match? Auba was missing again. We hardly saw him, it feels like he is a shadow of himself and although I hate to say it, it’s time Mikel choose starting line up based on merit and performance. Martinelli/Pepe could have easily fit in at the right. We did much better when they came on pitch, but making a substitute at 80min is leaving things for too late.
Another thing is our finishing needs to improve. Although we scored 3, we missed some sitters. Saka got an early chance, Laca missed one and Pepe failed to pass a somewhat easy ball to Laca for a tap in. We need to improve in the final third. Any good team will restrict your chances of scoring and you can’t afford to miss any one of them.
Short one for today, I hope you enjoyed the match. I would love to hear you say in the comments!
