Arsenal was left disappointed after suffering a 3-1 loss against West Ham in the Carabao Cup. While the outcome itself may not be extremely significant, the team’s performance is causing concerns for their season. Prior to the game, manager Mikel Arteta had emphasized the importance of maintaining a high level of play, regardless of the competition. However, the team failed to rise to this challenge and delivered what could arguably be considered their worst performance of the season so far.
Arteta recognized the importance of focusing on the present in football and stressed the need for his players to use this defeat as motivation for future matches. One point of contention came with West Ham’s opening goal, as Arsenal argued that their goalkeeper was fouled during the play. Arteta firmly believes that had VAR been in place, the goal would have been disallowed. Unfortunately, this setback seemed to drain Arsenal’s fighting spirit, allowing West Ham to score two more goals.
Arsenal’s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale had a subpar performance, particularly in terms of his passing abilities, making it difficult for him to argue his case for being the team’s chosen starter. This defeat can be seen as a collective failure for Arsenal, reminiscent of the early days of Arteta’s tenure when he had to establish his authority in the dressing room. Towards the end of the match, Arteta made some substitutions, which could possibly be interpreted as a message to the underperforming players.
Despite a late consolation goal from Martin Odegaard, the overall performance was still disappointing. Arsenal now needs to swiftly move on from this defeat in order to uphold their reputation as a strong team in the league.