“One Arsène Wenger” was chanted throughout the Emirates. The elderly master in the directors’ box reacted with a wave. Gabriel Martinelli had just given Arsenal the lead, and some of the play was reminiscent of their glory years. On his first visit to the club since his sad departure in 2018, the architect of those times could have been forgiven for feeling a sense of nostalgia.
Maybe they truly are. Even while this was ultimately a facile victory for the leaders, it seemed significant: many observers speculated that the six-week break may have derailed their title hopes. West Ham was the type of difficult opponent that could put this theory to the test, but like practically every other team Arsenal faced between August and November, they were completely outplayed.
Before the half-hour mark, Sad Benrahma converted a penalty kick to put his team up 1-0 and put Arsenal in a difficult position. They had responded admirably to losses earlier in the season, but now, so soon after the league’s resumption, they would be tested to see if they remembered how to behave like prospective champions. Before Wenger, they passed it by.
Mikel Arteta beamed as he gushed about his former boss’s presence: “He chose the proper time, a truly fantastic day.” “Christmas Day is a fantastic day to play football, and I believe his performance was commensurate with the occasion. I hope he enjoyed it.
There will be no cause for fear in this regard. Arsenal was unstoppable after halftime and danced to the tune of Martin degaard, who was on song from the opening whistle and provided a masterclass in the art of playmaker.
Arteta was eager to highlight his captain’s off-the-ball efforts, but his two assists, even if the first was fortunate, gave more immediate joy. It was, at the risk of overstating the case, an individual performance befitting the height of Wenger’s period.
Saka was not far behind degaard’s level and did not seem like a player who was wallowing in England’s World Cup elimination. Saka had an early effort disallowed for offside before setting up his teammate for a shot that went just wide, and even though Arsenal was hammering against a brick wall before halftime, there was a sense that their inventiveness would eventually pay off.
It occurred peculiarly when degaard, presumably aiming to shoot from 30 yards away, trailed his shot directly into the unmarked feet of Saka. Time and space were available, yet the scenario still demanded a chilly conclusion, which was supplied.
A more generous assessment would be that degaard fizzed his teammate a hard, well-intentioned ball that necessitated finishing; he is capable of doing so, but whatever the fact, everyone could agree that Arsenal was off to a great start.
“Perhaps they needed a touch of luck to get them up,” lamented a despondent David Moyes, whose team had shown flashes of its formidable best before succumbing to a fourth consecutive loss. If so, Arsenal grabbed the opportunity, and in the 58th minute, they took the lead on a goal that pleased Wenger.
Saka’s victory against Declan Rice, followed by degaard’s takeover and Granit Xhaka’s pass to Martinelli on the left side of the penalty area, encapsulated all that is admirable about the current squad. Moyes had a point when he stated that Lukasz Fabianski should have done a better job, but from the perspective of the winners, the goal was a triumph of execution.
Arteta was thrilled that the third goal was scored by Nketiah, who has enormous shoes to fill in the absence of Gabriel Jesus but provided a compelling response to any critics in this instance.
Nketiah rolled Thilo Kehrer and drilled across Fabianski after Ben White evaded Benrahma deftly before degaard provided the final ball. Over the past year, Nketiah’s performance has vastly improved, and Arsenal’s attacking intensity has not diminished in any way. Arteta stated, “If he had any reservations, this should give him more confidence in his actions.”
West Ham appears deficient in this area and must regret the time in the second half when Michail Antonio escaped but shot at Aaron Ramsdale. They had something to cling to after William Saliba defeated Jarrod Bowen, with Benrahma completing the job, but they are currently 16th and in a bind.
“We were complacent in the second half,” observed Moyes, who may have felt fortunate when VAR rightly overruled a penalty kick awarded for handball against Aaron Cresswell as halftime approached.
This was unquestionably Arsenal’s and Wenger’s night. “Hopefully, as he walks through the building, he will sense everything that everyone thinks of him and the legacy he has left behind,” Arteta added. His group may be about to capitalize on it.
