Even if Arsène Wenger had been West Ham United's manager on Saturday evening it is doubtful that he would have affected this result. Nor would Sir Alex Ferguson. The visitors to Upton Park clinically showed the current gulf in class between management and mismanagement, top and bottom, and north and east London.
Wally Downes may have added temporary improvement to West Ham's defensive organisation but individual brilliance and creativity can destroy the most thorough of restrictive plans. Quite simply, Arsenal's midfield ran the game, making space by moving off the ball, dragging markers out of their comfort zones and enjoying colleagues taking advantage of the space created.
West Ham, already without the influential Scott Parker, were further handicapped when Mark Noble had to leave the field after 19 minutes. The remaining threesome - Jonathan Spector, Radoslav Kovac and the substitute Luís Boa Morte - never coped with the movement of the Arsenal midfield whirlwind. They were left dizzied, chasing the ball hopelessly, as the visitors dominated.
Alex Song, praised recently in this column, has allied craft to his power. Cesc Fábregas has great steel, added to his obvious technical qualities, and it was his determination that freed and forced the ball to Gaël Clichy, the full-back releasing Robin van Persie to pull back for Theo Walcott's crucial second goal. The third of the Arsenal triumvirate, Jack Wilshere, is not getting carried away with the praise being heaped upon him. Keeping it simple, he can disguise passes by reversing soft angled balls which are a joy for the receiver.
One looked for adjustments from West Ham at half-time from the beleaguered Avram Grant to cope with superior opponents and a two-goal deficit but Carlton Cole remained isolated with no support. With no changes forthcoming, Arsenal continued to snap at the overwhelmed home midfield, never giving them breathing space nor opportunities to get their heads up and pick passes. With Walcott and Samir Nasri grafting from wide areas but, importantly, mixing their wide wing play with passes in-field and following their ball, the visitors dominated completely.
As the leading scorers in the Premier League, Arsenal are, for sure, a serious title threat because they can control any midfield with their movement, progressive possession and drive. West Ham simply could not cope. They may need to adjust their style as too many of their players are technically lacking. Here they could have supplied Cole with a partner and employed a longer ball game to bypass their overrun midfield. Maybe a Sam Allardyce or Martin O'Neill-type manager could bring much needed short-term results.
Source: David Pleat, The Guardian on 17 Jan 11
No comments:
Post a Comment