'Only his last changes worked' - how Arteta's gambles finally paid off
I was watching the game for Match of the Day and straight away I thought they looked up for it. They were looking strong and created a few excellent early chances. After that, though, West Ham grew into the game and the first change that Arteta made, bringing Martin Zubimendi on for the injured Ben White after 28 minutes, didn't work.
I can understand why Arteta tried that because, when White went off, Arsenal were dominating the game. West Ham 's wing-backs were pinned back so Riccardo Calafiori and White were getting on the ball a lot, in the Hammers half. Arteta probably thought Rice is so comfortable on the ball that he could leave him at right-back, and Zubimendi is so technically gifted, he is more than adequate to come into the middle of the park instead and dictate play.
That way, Rice could handle Crysencio Summerville athletically. And while he had another defender, Cristhian Mosquera, on the bench, Mosquera is much more of an out-and-out defender and Arteta wanted to stay on the front foot. Of course it didn't play out that way.
Arsenal lost a bit of momentum and West Ham had a couple of chances before the break - I guess it shows you how significant Rice is in the middle of the park. So, Arteta changed it again at half-time, bringing Mosquera on at right-back, moving Myles Lewis-Skelly to left-back and taking off Calafiori. That last part surprised me, because Calafiori was Arsenal 's biggest goal threat in the first half and he was getting in some great positions.
Still, the change itself to bring Rice back into midfield was the right thing to do, and Arteta made it quickly. After half-time, Arsenal were no longer in any trouble defensively, but they couldn't really create any chances. They were probing but they lacked ideas and didn't look like they were going to score.