Can a team of Arshavin, Cesc, Van Persie and Diaby stop a side who pressure our back four? If you knock loudly enough will Arsenal concede?

West Ham 2 Arsenal 2 – Premier League

October 26th the season is well under way and the only team to have beaten Arsene’s team is Arsenal FC. It was only five days ago when Wenger was supposed to have given his squad homework to do after a late collapse in Holland. At Upton park the squad failed to do any revision and it showed. Two goals up at half time, in total control of the game.

Robin Van Persie hit the back of the net yet again after a super cross from Bacary Sagna. I haven’t said that in a while, I just hope I get the chance to say that a little more often.

Robin’s corner for the Gallas second goal was wonderful. Van Persie is the only player under Wenger that has taken consistent quality corners. The movement from Gallas and the leap was terrific and we deserved our two goal lead. Just as in the Birmingham game at the Emirates, a two goal lead consequently meant that the team once again took their collective feet off the pedal.

If I am honest, at 2-0 up I felt like the game was over, I was also expecting us to increase the gears and find added late goals, I guess we have been spoilt by the amount of goals that the team has scored so far. A large portion of our goals conceded this season have been from individual mistakes which is why I have repeatedly said that we have beaten ourselves this season. I have always thought that a team cannot continue to make mistakes because surely it is a law of averages. Surely Abou Diaby cannot power another header past his own goalkeeper, surely Eduardo will not produce another back heal to the opposition on the edge of his own penalty area.

Vito Mannone has already made a few mistakes in his short career as an Arsenal player which I would imagine is pretty normal for a 21 year old goalkeeper who started the season in third place. Diamanti’s free kick may have swerved aggressively through the air but Mannone’s attempt to deal with the shot was disappointing. Carlton Cole who was impressive all afternoon was first on the spot to head in from close range.

It is amazing how much of a difference you feel when your team winning 2-0 compared to when the opposition pull one back. I blew out my cheeks and my first thoughts were ‘ok, how much have you learnt from the AZ Alkmaar game.

The answer appeared to be not very much. The game was never going to stay at 2-1 and that is something that Arsene will have to address. Either we kill it off by scoring the third or the inevitable happens. Having said that I didn’t think that the Song challenge was a penalty. A foul would not have been called if it was outside of the penalty area. How many times do Arsenal players have to suffer that kind of challenge from the opposition without a hint of a foul. The penalty was very well taken and I will put aside my Arsenal cap for one second and heap praise on Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham. It is a pleasant change to see an opposition side in the English Premier League get the ball down and keep possession against us.

I get sick to my stomach of watching matches in England that do not include Arsenal and see hoofed balls into channels and long punts into the penalty area, continuously bypassing the midfield time after time. West Ham regardless of their league position and form played very well and showed good heart.

Back to Arsenal, I expect to hear much of the same from the players and the manager about needing to show maturity, focus and concentration. I would rather just watch the players prove that on the pitch. That brings me to my next question. How does a team built to keep the ball, built to pick off teams play 45 minutes of safety football?

Can Arsenal kill the game off without playing attacking football?

Do not get me wrong, our style is one that I hope we keep for as long as possible, it is more a question than a criticism.

Can a team of Arshavin, Cesc, Van Persie and Diaby stop a side who pressure our back four? If you knock loudly enough will Arsenal concede?

These are the questions that only time can answer. Maybe this team will develop the knack of closing out football matches. Maybe another grinding performance will breed confidence and send a very important psychological message to the players.

Now that I have had time to reflect and more importantly calm down an away win on that weekend wasn’t the end of the world, frustrating yes and we should have added an extra two points to our total but if we can beat Burnley and Wigan away then we gain further points over our rivals even if they do beat West Ham at Upton Park. Luckily we are not the only club towards the top who are dropping points.