Arsenal lost 1-0 at home to West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners were poor for much of the game and struggled to break down the Hammers’ low block.
Jarrod Bowen gave Graham Potter’s side the lead on the stroke of half-time, nodding in from close range after excellent work from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Arsenal huffed and puffed in the second half, but were unable to find an equaliser, and their task was made harder when Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for hauling down Mohamed Kudus when the Ghanaian was through on goal.
The result leaves Mikel Arteta’s team eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
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Five things you missed from Arsenal vs West Ham
The bleak nature of Arsenal’s attack was obvious, but there were several other things you might have missed.
Arsenal’s left-hand side bias
When Bukayo Saka is fit, Arsenal usually overload the right-hand side with the team’s talisman, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber or Ben White combining in tight spaces.
However, this was very much flipped on its head in this game, with the majority of Arsenal’s attacks coming down the left.
Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori were looking to combine, while Declan Rice was taking up interesting positions in the half-spaces.
Ethan Nwaneri has impressed in recent weeks on the right, making this approach somewhat confusing and likely explaining Arsenal’s first half impotence.
West Ham fans booed Declan Rice
Leaving West Ham for Arsenal in the summer of 2023, Rice has clearly not been forgiven by Hammers fans for swapping East London for North.
The midfielder was booed every time he touched the ball by a pocket of the away faithful, who were keen to vent their frustrations with their former player.
This hostility appeared to affect Rice’s display, with the Englishman struggling to impact the game for much of it, particularly in the final third.
He was hooked shortly after the break.
Martin Odegaard’s wayward shooting
Odegaard has struggled to score goals this season, and it’s no surprise based on the quality of his shooting in this game.
The Norwegian let fly from distance a few times, with every effort shanked miles from goal or fluffed and blocked before it could reach the target.
The playmaker needs to up his game in all departments, but this area is a particular concern for a side struggling to find the back of the net consistently.
Arsenal’s vulnerability in transition
Typically exceptional at preventing the opposition from launching effective transitions on them, Arsenal weren’t at their best in this regard.
The Gunners allowed West Ham to break dangerously on numerous occasions, notably with the Bowen goal.
This was likely a symptom of Rice not being at his best and Partey struggling to cope with the physicality of Mohamed Kudus and Bowen.
The two West Ham attackers’ powerful running and neat dribbling got the Irons up the pitch and into the final third very effectively.
Oleksandr Zinchenko played in midfield
Hardly featuring this season, Oleksandr Zinchenko was called upon on to make an impact for Arsenal in the second half.
Arteta opted to replace Rice with the Ukrainian shortly before the hour mark, deploying him in the left eight role.
Taking up unusually advanced positions, Zinchenko looked unnatural when trying to break into the box late and we saw little of his immaculate line-breaking passes.
It certainly didn’t work, as Arsenal slumped to a woeful defeat in front of their own fans.
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