This was not the reunion that Arsenal envisaged. On a night when West Ham’s discipline and tremendous work ethic turned the Emirates Stadium into a pit of frustration, Declan Rice found himself powerless to resist as the narrative shifted to the goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos that raises further doubts over his old side’s staying power in the title race.
Mikel Arteta has every reason to be concerned after a defeat that dashed Arsenal’s hopes of returning to the top of the Premier League. Statistics showing his side had 74% possession and finished a taut encounter with 30 shots to West Ham’s five spoke less of their dominance and more to their toothlessness and indecision in the final third. As Arteta acknowledged, supremacy in the middle hardly feels relevant when it is accompanied by such a lack of conviction in both boxes.
