West Ham, a rival team in London, easily defeated Arsenal on Wednesday night in what was unquestionably Mikel Arteta’s team’s worst performance of the year.
The Hammers easily advanced to the round of eight after winning 3-1 and never once appearing to be in danger of losing this Carabao Cup match. Ben White’s own goal put the Hammers ahead, and goals from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen put an end to the match as a contest. For the visitors, Martin Odegaard secured a late consolation goal.
Even though Arteta is a competitive person, losing in the League Cup will hurt, but the competition was never his top priority. The manager of the Gunners will be more concerned about the lackluster performances from several bench players.
Players who were bench starters at the beginning of the game included Odegaard, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Declan Rice. The likes of Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson, Fabio Vieira, and Jorginho took their place.
Of the aforementioned quartet, Kiwior is the only one who can claim any credit; some deft passing demonstrates the Poland international’s technical ability. The other four were significantly below average, and Jorginho was unable to deliver the caliber that is typically associated with Thomas Partey and Rice.
Both Trossard and Nelson found it difficult to make a significant contribution to the game, and both eventually hooked up before the final siren blew. For the majority of the match, Vieira looked lost in the middle of the park and failed to build on the momentum created by his goal last Saturday.
Some of the more upbeat Arsenal supporters might dismiss this outcome as a bump in a subpar competition and move on. But when it comes to contending for the league championship, Arteta understands the value of having a strong team as opposed to just one starting eleven.
The title charge from the previous season collapsed when Rob Holding had to step in for an injured Saliba. If something similar were to happen to one of Arsenal’s starters this season, the evidence that the prospective replacements provided on Wednesday night does not look good for their goals.
Inquiries about whether the addition of players like Odegaard, Saka, and Martinelli was a calculated move to chastise the underperforming deputies were made of Arteta during his post-match media duties. There was, he insisted, “no message to send.”
Despite the setback, the manager of the Gunners acknowledged that he was “very disappointed” and urged his team to bounce back for the next match. “We definitely need to use this pain for Saturday,” Arteta said. “To go to Newcastle and win, we have to make the most of it.
In typical Arteta fashion, he defended the struggling stars, stating that their lack of playing time could have been a factor in their subpar performance. However, don’t expect to see many of those bench players in the starting lineup when they play Newcastle on Saturday night.
