WHZ View: Lack of options the undoing of West Ham in 3-3 draw with Arsenal
West Ham sorely missed the work rate of Pablo Fornals in their 3-3 draw with Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Spaniard has missed key clashes with Manchester United and the Gunners in the past week. It’s no coincidence we’ve taken one point from a possible six.
His absence was obvious in our last game. Each of the three Arsenal goals came from their right-hand-side. Aaron Cresswell was exposed due to the lack of defensive work by Said Benrahma as we threw away a three-goal advantage.
Fornals is a favourite of David Moyes. He’s missed just five matches this season, starting 22 times in the Premier League. So often he is deployed on our left-wing due to his defensive work-rate. How we could have done with him as we desperately tried to hold on.
Benrahma, who started in his place, didn’t help his left-back at all. He won just 36% of his duels and lost possession eight times before being substituted off [WyScout]. He made just one interception and only found teammates with 67% of his passes.
Looking back at the two own goals, Calum Chambers is allowed to advance freely down our right side. Benrahma is nowhere on either occasion, allowing him time and space to drill dangerous crosses into our area. Both resulted in goals that could have so easily been avoided.
Throwing away a 3-0 advantage is criminal, there is no denying that. However, despite naming a very strong XI, Moyes came unstuck due to a lack of resources from the bench. On came Mark Noble and Ryan Fredericks, whilst they aren’t positive changes, he didn’t have much else to choose from.
Of our nine substitutes for the clash, two were goalkeepers and three had never played in the Premier League. The only recognised attacking threat was Manuel Lanzin and he hasn’t looked himself for nearly three seasons now.
Moyes had nothing to work with. The injuries we’ve picked up recently have really hampered any chance of finishing in the top four. Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku and Fornals down the left-hand side would have given so much cover in and around Cresswell. It’s likely we’d never have seen Chambers create two goals.
In comparison, Arsenal were able to bring on Emile Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe. The latter picked up an assist for the equaliser. It just shows the difference in options from the bench for the two managers.
Above everything, this result highlights how much the squad is lacking depth. In terms of a starting XI, it’s probably the best West Ham have had in the last 15 seasons. We need reinforcements up front and central midfield this summer.
In other West Ham news, here are three things we learned in the 3-3 draw with the Gunners.