WHZ Tactics: Declan Rice needs to be on top form to stop smart Arsenal passes v West Ham
West Ham will have to be on their guard to overcome a resurgent Arsenal side who will be gunning for glory at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s North-London outfit have won four of their last five games and have lost just once in their last eight and victory over the Irons would see the gap between them close to four points.
They come into this fixture in confident mood after dispatching rivals Tottenham Hotspur with ease last weekend and David Moyes must guard his team against their countless threats.
Perhaps the biggest threat of them all is their comfort on the ball in the final third of the pitch and they have players who can pick a pass between the lines.
According to Wyscout Arsenal are the only Premier League side to complete more successful smart passes than not [50.5%] and only five complete more per 90 [6.37].
They also rank in the top five for through ball accuracy [35.1%] and are sixth for pass accuracy to the final third of the pitch [73.2%].
Take a look at this example below v Spurs to see the vision of their players.
Here Kieran Tierney has acres of space to pick out a pass between defence and midfield for Emile Smith Rowe to run on to.
Tanguy Ndombele is caught lacking at the base of the Spurs midfield and does not shuffle across to block the ball which sets Arsenal on their way.
There is a further example shown below and this time his midfield partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is found wanting as he ambles across to block another Tierney through ball to the Arsenal attack.
He is bailed out by Davinson Sanchez who makes a desperate stretch for the ball but this was very close to putting Arsenal in a dangerous situation and Moyes must instruct his deep-lying midfielders Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek to thwart these types of opportunities.
The good news is in Rice we possess one of the most complete midfielders in the Premier League and his ability to snuff out dangerous balls will be crucial to overcome the Gunners.
Per Wyscout the 22-year-old is in the top 20 for interceptions in the Premier League with 155, more than any of his teammates and that works out as 5.15 per 90.
He also makes 7.28 recoveries per 90 and this will be vital to grabbing back the ball v Arsenal.
See this example below from our 1-0 defeat to Manchester United last Sunday where Rice cuts out the ball-playing threat of Bruno Fernandes.
The talismanic Portuguese is well known for his defence-splitting passes and our home-grown hero had done his homework before the Old Trafford trip.
Fernandes tries to thread the ball behind the midfield to set United off on a counter-attack and running at the West Ham defence but Rice lunges to intercept the ball and throw cold water on the danger.
The best part of it is that it is not a desperate dive to win the ball but rather a graceful flex of the leg to retrieve the ball and assume back control for the Irons.
He does exactly the same thing in the second half and Fernandes is again the disappointed party.
Once again he intercepts the ball with consummate ease.
These are just a couple of examples from countless this season and we need much more of the same to stop the likes of Tierney, Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard running rampage at the London Stadium.
Negating that threat will likely put paid to Arsenal hopes of taking three points and therefore their chances of overtaking us in the league table.
In other West Ham news, Arsenal Super Fan gives the Gunners lowdown ahead of Sunday’s clash.