Thread by @jackelderton_

🚨 West Ham 1-2 Arsenal
🔎 Analysis & Review Thread

A solid performance from a changed team missing several key players. Much like the Chelsea game last week, it feels a little harsh to have come away without anything...

Questions encouraged, RTs appreciated! 🧵

Interesting that, after a scrappy opening five minutes, we've settled on the ball better.

Arsenal clearly very happy to let us have it and drop into a low block where there is little room in central areas but space out wide.

Difficult for us given our lack of height in the box.

Defensively, we've started very well.

The midfield have done a great job of stopping Arsenal from getting the ball into Odegaard/Saka/Martinelli in central areas and with turning space limited, Arsenal have been forced to look for more direct passes.

Really good stuff so far.

Quick edit: I used the wrong screenshot in the first post. Where it says "ball-side winger", it should just say "Saka".

Tavares obviously isn't doing the same job as Tomiyasu on the other side.

Here's a nice example of that bold defensive structure we're executing well early in this game.

Central options completely screened off. Noble/Rice both tight to Odegaard/Martinelli and Zouma staying tight to Nketiah to negate the drop-off threat.

Arsenal forced long again.

Tell you what, I've just seen Tavares do exactly what I said he wouldn't do with Martinelli recovering to LWB so that Tomiyasu could go and press Benrahma.

So after all that, "ball-side winger" was probably right in the first post!

Arsenal's low block is very well coached.

It's been a total chess match in the opening 20 minutes as Arsenal's low block is a bit kryptonite-like for us in this game given our lack of presence in the box.

Quick pause to comment on Bowen's off-the-ball understanding when playing through the middle. Still lots to work on.

Given that this game is incredibly slow, we've got a chance to take a look at some longer term issues.

With Bowen's angles of approach from a central role addressed, next up is Lanzini's poor scanning. This regularly drags him into positions that expose high value passes.

Should probably say that Mohamed Elneny has started the game really well...

Opening 20:
Good - Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Holding, Elneny, Saka, Odegaard, Fabianski, Coufal, Cresswell, Fornals.

Bad - Zouma, Lanzini, Xhaka.

30' First chance of the game as we finally manage to surge up the pitch with real intent.

Excellent work from Fredericks to beat the press and Benrahma releases his ball to Coufal at the perfect time.

Coufal's cross finds its way through to Lanzini but Holding blocks the shot.

30' 👏👏👏

As Saka, who has been by far Arsenal's most threatening player, races away down the left, Rice eats up the ground and then refuses to commit, giving Saka no option but to pass back.

Noble then identifies Nketiah's hesitation and presses aggressively to win it back.

38' Good save.

Nketiah picks up the ball after a very loose pass from Bowen and dribbles forward before bending a shot towards the bottom corner with both Noble and Zouma slow to engage.

Really poor sequence from us.

39' 0-1 Holding.

"It only took him six years and a new hairline" but Rob Holding has finally scored a goal. And to be fair, he's been the best player on the pitch so he probably deserves it.

Arsenal exploit our lack of strength in the blockers brilliantly here...

This is a really well constructed set-piece.

Nketiah's blocking run on Zouma takes out one of only two strong aerial defenders we have and Arsenal attack the gap created perfectly.

Very difficult to defend this better given the lack of height.

40' What a save.

Almost an instant response but Ramsdale pulls out an incredible reaction save from Rice's header.

Fine margins etc...

45' 1-1 Bowen.

A deserved equaliser. We've played some good stuff since the Arsenal goal, moving the ball a little quicker and hitting crosses earlier.

It's important for us to use the wide space Arsenal are conceding, even if we won't win first contact from crosses often.

And it's an assist for Coufal who has been back to his very best in this half.

Times his run to perfection (brilliant pass from Rice) as he has done all game when Fornals has drifted inside.

Playing like this, he could have a really big impact against Frankfurt on Thursday.

HT 1-1

Quizzical looks all around as Mike Dean calls time after playing exactly 21 seconds of the minute added on. Just as we had won a corner from a promising attack...

Very strong finish to the half from us as Arsenal just started to wobble.

Half-time ratings coming now...

HT ratings

Fabianski - 8
Coufal - 9
Zouma - 4
Cresswell - 7
Fredericks - 6
Noble - 7
Rice - 8
Fornals - 8
Lanzini - 5
Benrahma - 6
Bowen - 5

Ramsdale - 8
Tomiyasu - 7
Holding - 10
Gabriel - 6
Tavares - 5
Elneny - 8
Xhaka - 3
Saka - 8
Odegaard - 7
Martinelli - 6
Nketiah - 8

That's all for today. Join me again tomorrow for analysis of the second half but time to pause now before recording this week's @KUMBPod.

Cheers!

We're back. Second half.

Intend to keep this relatively short, my head is fried but you know how this goes...

We've settled better at the beginning of the second half but have struggled to create anything in the final third.

Here's a good example of Benrahma's slow perception of space.

53' Chance.

Great play from Fornals who bends a ball in behind the defence for Bowen to run onto.

Ramsdale comes steaming out, gets nowhere near the ball with a flying studs up challenge and Bowen gets booked for jumping out of the way.

Nice.

53' Good save.

Straight up the other end and Saka steps inside Fredericks (who is missing a boot) and takes his shot early towards the near post.

Fabianski gets down well to save.

54' 1-2 Gabriel.

Another corner, another goal.

Cresswell manages to get first contact but we defend the second phase terribly as Lanzini does a terrible job of blocking (again) and Fredericks falls asleep at the back post.

Lanzini has to do a lot better here as he just allows Gabriel a free run at the back post and Fredericks is caught ball-watching the whole time.

Fabianski somewhat unfortunate but really should make the save.

Clarification: Forgot that first contact comes off Holding's arm rather than Cresswell's head.

Matters not anyway due to the rule change. Goals cannot be ruled out by VAR for handballs like this anymore, has to be the scoring player.

70' Lanzini off, Antonio on.

Lanzini has really struggled off the ball at times & his failure to scan has opened up gaps in the press. Without offering much penetrative quality around the box, he's not really compensating for that.

Antonio on to try to shift this Arsenal block.

We've had 65% of the ball between the goal and this sub but haven't created anything against the low block.

Fornals has been tireless, constantly picking the ball up between the lines and opening gaps for others but Bowen, Lanzini and Benrahma have failed to make much of that...

72' Chance.

First direct Arsenal counter in a while as Nketiah races away onto Elneny's pass, steps inside Zouma and bends one towards the bottom corner.

Just wide.

77' Noble off, Soucek on.

Another change to make us more direct as our control of possession has kept Arsenal penned back but has led to little penetration in the final third and nothing in the way of actual chances.

Noble has played really well.

79' Great save.

Nketiah whips another shot towards the bottom corner after a ridiculous misunderstanding between Coufal and Zouma.

Nketiah has worked really hard up there all game, we've lacked his kind of energy in the final third.

Zouma has been pretty bad in this one.

81' Benrahma off, Yarmolenko on.

Some nice moments throughout from Benrahma but in truth, he hasn't offered anywhere near enough between the lines or in the final third.

Can do so much more!

Yarmolenko coming on seems to suggest we're looking to bombard Arsenal with crosses...

As Arsenal begin to run the clock down, it's pretty clear that the subs have made us much worse as we've lost our rhythm/control without adding any real threat in behind.

Second half-
Good: Fornals, Holding, Elneny, Xhaka, Odegaard, Nketiah.
Bad: Tomiyasu, Fabianski, Fredericks.

Huge difference between Xhaka's first half performance and second half performance and that's made a big impact on the game. Arsenal have had more about them on the ball in midfield and improved cover behind Tavares.

We've found it impossible to break them down.

This is silly. Cresswell and Rice allowing Nketiah to wind them up and do a wonderful job of wasting 110 seconds for Arsenal.

FT 1-2

Arsenal executed a perfect low block defensive effort after going ahead in the second half.

It was incredibly frustrating for us and led to increasingly short patience and poorer decisions... The desired effect.

We needed to play with much more quality around the box.

Player ratings from #WHUFC 1-2 #Arsenal

Fabianski - 6
Coufal - 8
Zouma - 4
Cresswell - 7
Fredericks - 5
Noble - 7
Rice - 7
Fornals - 9 ⭐️
Lanzini - 5
Benrahma - 6
Bowen - 6

Antonio - 5

Arsenal...

Ramsdale - 7
Tomiyasu - 6
Holding - 9 ⭐️
Gabriel - 7
Tavares - 6
Elneny - 8
Xhaka - 5
Saka - 8
Odegaard - 7
Martinelli - 6
Nketiah - 9

That's me done. I'm knackered!