Morning.
It’s the final game before the Interlull today as we take on West Ham at home. It might be a strange thing to say, but I put today’s opposition in the same bracket as last weekend’s. Not that the Hammers are an intensely physical side who are given free rein to bludgeon their way through games, but because our recent record against them is poor.
Like Newcastle away, West Ham at home has become something of a bogey fixture for us. Last season we lost 1-0 with a performance that was really poor, and the season before we were beaten 2-0 on a day when we just couldn’t find a way to convert one of our 30 attempts on goal. It was, when May came around, one of those ‘what if’ games as we lost out on the title by a single point.
So, much like at St James’ Park last Sunday, there’s something to put right today, and we know this manager uses every little thing to motivate his players. There should be a sense of unfinished business. Asked about that recent record against West Ham, Arteta said:
There are always moments when you have dropped points, and that’s certainly been one of those. At home we know the form that we need and the amount of games that we have to win to reach the target that we have, and again, tomorrow is going to be a key match for us.
Having ‘rested’ the likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and Eberechi Eze in midweek, I expect all of them to start today. I think we’ll see Eze ostensibly on the left, but given licence to roam into central areas, and I’m curious to see how he and Martin Odegaard operate in tandem. These two haven’t started a game together yet, and after what the captain produced against Olympiacos, along with what we know the former Crystal Palace man can bring, it’s potentially an exciting development for this team.
At the back Arteta sounded confident enough on Gabriel’s availability after going off on Wednesday, saying ‘We weren’t too concerned about him’. That’s good news for us, not so much for West Ham who have conceded eight goals from corners this season, and that’s a weakness any team would look to exploit – not least an Arsenal side whose prowess and proficiency from set-pieces is second to none. Gabriel is a key part of that, so hopefully he’ll be available later.
Today gives us a chance to go top of the table too. It doesn’t mean that much at this early stage, but with Liverpool away at Chelsea later on after a difficult week, it’d still put a little bit of pressure on if we can take three points. There’s a long, long way to go in this title race, but having put something of a marker down last week with a difficult win away from home, Arsenal need to ensure there are no slip ups today. Games like this have cost us in the past, and if this is the season we’re going to go all the way, you have to be ruthless with these home fixtures. Let’s hope that is the case.
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There are a couple of landmarks today. This will be Arteta’s 300th game in charge, and Saka’s 200th Premier League appearance. Fingers crossed those are milestones they can celebrate later on, and the Spaniard spoke about Saka, injuries, and how far he has come since playing at left-back in his first game as manager. Worth a read here.
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Right, I’ll leave it there for now. As ever we’ll have live blog coverage of the game for you, and all the post-match stuff – including player ratings and reaction – on Arseblog News. There’s also a preview podcast on Patreon if you need something to listen to.
For now, have a good Sunday Saturday , and come on you Gunners!
