Arsenal are back in Europe – now to seal a dream Champions League return
Match Stats: West Ham 1-2 Arsenal
Whatever happens in the next four games, Arsenal can release their passports next season.
The most important aspect of Sunday’s 2-1 win over West Ham at the London Stadium was that it lifted them above Tottenham and into the Premier League top four.
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But what he has also done is ensure that Mikel Arteta’s side will not finish below sixth place, at least guaranteeing them Europa League football for 2022-23.
That would have been Arsenal’s aim when they kicked off their campaign in August, but they will now see it as the bare minimum as they approach the finish line with Champions League qualification in their hands.
They entered Sunday’s game knowing Spurs had climbed above them in fourth thanks to their 3-1 win over Leicester City earlier in the afternoon.
It was a result that raised the pressure on Arteta’s side, but goals from centre-backs Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes were enough to give them the victory they needed to restore their two-point advantage four games away. the end.
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In truth, it was a lousy performance from the Gunners, who made a catalog of mistakes throughout an error-strewn contest.
But that won’t worry Arteta at this stage of the season.
The wins are all that matters now, and Arsenal got exactly what they came to east London to back up their recent victories over Chelsea and Manchester United.
There is no doubt that they will need to raise their level of play in the final four games to ensure they are back at Europe’s top table next season, especially when they face Spurs in just under of fifteen days.
But with title-challenged Tottenham chasing Liverpool at Anfield next weekend and Arsenal at home to relegation-threatened Leeds United, Arteta’s side could very well take a five-point advantage in this north London derby.
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That’s why a win against West Ham was so crucial. Considering what was at stake, however, Arsenal were strangely flat in the first half.
They would have been well aware of Spurs’ result but there was very little urgency in the first 45 minutes which were littered with errors for both sides.
The best chance of the first half-hour went to West Ham, but Holding was on hand to block Manuel Lanzini’s shot at the far post.
Arsenal struggled to create anything remarkable at the other end until sloppy defending gave Eddie Nketiah a chance to run for goal.
Lukas Fabianksi did well to save the striker’s effort but Holding rose higher to head the resulting corner into the far corner to open the scoring after 38 minutes.
The lead didn’t last long, however, with Jardon Bowen leveling West Ham at half-time after being picked off by Vladimir Coufal.
It was a goal worthy of Arsenal’s poor performance, with Nuno Tavares giving Coufal far too much time to find Bowen, who was then able to take a throw-in before drilling a deflected effort into the bottom corner.
Arteta must have been furious at half-time and his side started the second half with more urgency, regaining their lead in the 54th minute thanks to Gabriel’s header.
The Brazilian centre-back has scored some valuable goals this season, and he was once again on target to score his fourth of the campaign when he nodded past Gabriel Martinelli’s cross at the far post.
It was a goal that turned out to be the winner, with a weary West Ham never quite looking to equalize as they prepared for their own second leg in the Europa League semi-finals Thursday.
Instead, Arsenal could have made things more comfortable later on, with Nketiah missing out on two good chances, but the misses didn’t prove costly.
It was a result-oriented afternoon, and Arsenal got exactly what they wanted. After a season in the European desert, Arteta’s side can now officially prepare for trips across the continent ahead of next season.
The competition in which they play, however, is still very uncertain.