Arsenal returned to Premier League action with three hard-fought points as they struggled to make up for the absence of Gabriel Jesus as Bukayo Saka. And Gabriel Martinelli inspired a second-half turnaround against West Ham United.
Arteta’s side thought they had taken the lead inside five minutes when Bukayo Saka fired high into Lukasz Fabianski’s net, but the flag was raised early on for a cross. The Gunners were off to a flying start even before that point as they looked to maintain their record of never losing at home to David Moyes.
Arsenal weren’t immediately worried after falling behind and continued to threaten for the remainder of the first half.
West Ham had two chances in a row just after half-time when Aaron Ramsdale produced a crucial stoppage for Michael Antonio, but it was only a slip before the hosts regained momentum.
Nketiah’s claim and Saliba’s quick return against West ham United
Back-to-back runs were the order of the day early on and Arsenal almost capitalized when the 23-year-old missed wide before Saka opened the scoring. There were more impressive touches from the frontman in the first period when Craig Dawson and Thilo Kehrer were forced to guard the visitors.
When the goal came it was the kind of drive and confidence that many expected from Nketiah, even if they didn’t expect it yet. (- and it was more about when than if -). Arsenal may yet decide they need a new striker in January, but Nketiah has shown he deserves his chance.
William Saliba only trained twice after returning from the World Cup. The France international only played once in Qatar, so it was more about rust than exhaustion. Less than half an hour later, the debate about his release intensified. There was danger when Bowen got into Arsenal territory, but Saliba’s challenge was wild and some might argue unnecessarily.
In the end, however, Arsenal were not made to pay for their loss. They hope it was a case of one of their star performers returning to form without major losses after a busy few weeks with a lot at stake.
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Wenger impressed by Saka
Granit Xhaka was the only Wenger signing in the starting line-up against West Ham, although the legendary former manager also handed Nketiah his debut. However, it was proof that this is indeed Mikel Arteta’s team.
Wenger said he expected to meet Bukayo Saka when the pair were not introduced. Judging by the performance of the young Englishman, the Frenchman probably impressed even before his goal.
Despite Michael Oliver pointing out, many West Ham fans are not completely convinced. Their penalty record was 50% before the trip to north London, with efforts from Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen saved earlier in the season. That paved the way for Benrahma to start against Bournemouth in October.
He did it again at the Emirates Stadium to make it two for two. However, it was only his eighth league start of the season and there will certainly be moments when he is not on the pitch when his team is punished.
However, this is the least of West Ham’s problems. More worryingly, how they were dismantled for a fourth straight defeat leaves them hovering just above the top three, and the return of injured centre-backs Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerdi cannot come soon enough.
