As a nod to the spirit of generosity on show here, perhaps Arsenal should be congratulated for rescuing a point at a ground where Tottenham Hotspur came unstuck last month. On the verge of being blown halfway across London by Hurricane Andy, the claret and blue force of nature that swept the Arsenal back four off their feet, the most infuriating side in England belatedly located their spine before regaining a modicum of control late in the second half. “We had character and we have shown quality,” Arsène Wenger said. “It was not an easy game.”
But nothing is straightforward with Arsenal. Then came the caveat. “We scored three goals away from home and you want to win the game,” Wenger said, bemoaning his fragile team’s ability to undermine excellent attacking displays with the kind of amateurish defending that meant they drew a game they simply had to win. Bullied in the air by Andy Carroll, who scored his first hat-trick since joining West Ham United four years ago, Arsenal’s latest implosion means that their faint hopes of winning their first title since 2004 are dependent on Leicester City falling apart.
Because of the way they attacked, with Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez making it 2-0 inside 35 minutes thanks to assists from the excellent Alex Iwobi, this was not Arsenal at their absolute worst. Yet that only adds to the frustration. In a season when Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have underperformed, Arsenal are letting a wonderful opportunity slip out of their grasp.
Not for the first time, Wenger questioned their focus and urgency. It was 2-2 at half-time and 3-2 to West Ham by the 52nd minute, and it is staggering that Arsenal needed an equaliser from Laurent Koscielny, who had a poor game alongside the shaky Gabriel Paulista in central defence, to earn a point.
Fingers will be pointed at Wenger again. Accusations over a lack of leadership refuse to go away. “I think every time you concede goals people come up with the same thing: you lack leaders, you lack this and you lack that,” he said. “I don’t deny we lacked something at 2-0. Is it leadership? I’m not completely convinced; it’s just heading the ball.”
And Arsenal were unable to just head the ball. Carroll devoured crosses from Aaron Cresswell, Mark Noble and Michail Antonio, and Arsenal had no idea how to handle him. Wenger was asked if he regretted starting Gabriel instead of the taller Per Mertersacker. David Ospina was preferred to Petr Cech in goal.
“Maybe, I don’t know,” Wenger said. “Honestly I don’t know. Today in the game we did not have many problems. But the problems weren’t especially central defence, more on the flanks where we suffered. When we went 2-0 up we lost a bit of our defensive focus. With a player like Carroll, he can score goals from nothing – any set piece, any free-kick. Carroll was fresh and wanted to fight. But no matter who played we have conceded headed goals before.
“If you look at our defensive record we are third best in the league. We can’t make too much of it. But if we had a weakness today it is in the air. We lacked a bit of a tricky attitude. We know that Carroll can beat anyone in the air but we jumped and made it a bit not uncomfortable for him.”
It was Carroll’s first league start since he injured a hamstring on 12 January and Slaven Bilic expects him to be ready for the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Manchester United on Wednesday. “If I am drunk he ain’t going to start,” West Ham’s manager said.
Bilic’s tone was less lighthearted when the mystery of Diafra Sakho’s absence was brought up. It is understood that he reported a minor problem to West Ham’s medical staff after training on Friday, with sources close to the striker saying that a cryptic message he posted on social media in the early hours of Saturday morning was not related to his omission.
But would Sakho and Alex Song, who was also missing, be available against United? “I don’t think so,” Bilic said.
Man of the match Andy Carroll (West Ham United)
