Goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz, to go with penalties converted by Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, gave Arsenal a 5-2 win at West Ham on Saturday. There were plenty of style points to go around, but the Gunners also raised concerns by conceding two quick-fire goals, while potential injuries will be on the mind of manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal purred at times in the final third, slipping through the gears with pace, purpose, and imaginative daring. Saka and Odegaard were typically the headline acts, but Trossard merited special mention for a goal and an assist to mark a dazzling return to form.
The Arsenal attack was helped by Havertz acting as a true focal point after weeks of appearing to struggle under the burden of leading the line. Havertz took his goal superbly, but unfortunately, Wan-Bissaka and Royal did the same to expose a worrying vulnerability at the back.
Arteta has worked hard to ensure the Gunners are no longer weighed down by a soft underbelly, but he'll be irked by those moments of fragility either side of halftime. The gaffer will also have one eye on the many bumps and bruises inflicted upon more than a few key players, including two members of the bedrock defence.
Arsenal deliver a hammer blow in east London to go second 😤 pic.twitter.com/qLi0rhVzL6
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 30, 2024
Positive #1: Leandro Trossard finds his radar
He's been guilty of some downright awful displays in the past month and a bit. Mostly from being played out of position as a No. 10, but Trossard was back on song against the Hammers.
The Belgian slotted into the familiar confines of his preferred left-wing berth and played with verve and craft. Trossard's get-up-and-go attitude was summed up by his racing to the back post to tap in Saka's cutback after Havertz had missed the ball.
Initiative from Trossard prevented a slick move from being denied the end product it deserved. Fortunately, the former Brighton man was far from done. Trossard's next contribution was to lift a peach of a pass over the top for Havertz to collect and swiftly convert into another well-taken goal. The finish was sweet, but the pass was sweeter.
It was a ball reminiscent of something a pre-Chelsea (we don't talk about that) Cesc Fabregas used to effortlessly guide into the path of numerous Arsenal strikers.
Trossard is no talisman the way Fabregas was, but the winger has a hidden value. It's typified by the something extra he adds to this team going forward. That extra vision. Extra skill. Extra finishing touch in front of goal.
All of those things are vital supplements to the main course of Saka and Odegaard.
Negative #1: Arsenal knocked about
Arsenal didn't exactly come through this away win by a three-goal margin unscathed. Far from it. Instead, Arteta had to change two members of the back four, goal scorer Gabriel and returning left-back Riccardo Calafiori.
The latter limped off after 56 minutes and appeared to indicate a problem with his groin. That's an unconfirmed diagnosis, but Arteta won't want to lose a key player who has only just returned to the fray.
Especially when a woozy Gabriel needed to be hooked at the break. The Brazilian had been on the end of a punch of sorts from ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski which gave the visitors their second penalty.
The KO was hardly Ali vs. Foreman. More like Jake Paul in front of the mirror. Yet it was enough for Arteta to sit Gabriel down and turn to Jakub Kiwior.
Those developments mean Arsenal's next injury report will bear close inspection. So will the status of Saka and Odegaard, both of whom had chunks taken out of their lower limbs by over-enthusiastic West Ham "challenges."
Arsenal entered the game with Thomas Partey, Mikel Merino and Benjamin White nursing ailments, but Arteta still fielded arguably his strongest starting XI. Keeping the core group together for the festive period can tilt the title race in Arsenal's favour.
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