4/10 Arsenal star may have cost them the title

With Liverpool ceding territory in recent Premier League matches Arsenal started to find hope in their flailing title bid. Injuries have laid waste to Mikel Arteta’s frontline, but they still should have defeated West Ham United at the Emirates.

Instead, Arteta watched in horror as his side failed to break the Irons down and groaned deeper still when Jarrod Bowen found space in the area to guide Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s swooping cross beyond David Raya.

Arsenal will hope that their recent title nemesis Manchester City will do them a favour and consign Arne Slot’s team to the losing column on Sunday evening, but the Gunners would still trail Liverpool by a chasmic eight points, albeit with a game in hand.

While it’s hard to pin the missed opportunity down to a single moment, Myles Lewis-Skelly’s second-half red card killed any chance of staging a comeback and keeping the title flame flickering.

Myles Lewis-Skelly’s moment of madness

Subbed on before the hour mark with Arsenal trailing, Lewis-Skelly lasted just 17 minutes before being given his marching orders by referee Craig Pawson after a VAR intervention.

The young full-back, so talented, so promising, has already faced the riotous red of the referee’s book this season, but unlike against Wolves, this one isn’t likely to be overturned.

A tussle with Mohammed Kudus had seen the Ghanaian facing Arsenal’s half with no defender in sight, and when Lewis-Skelly wrestled him to the ground, VAR’s intrusion only meant one thing.

It’s difficult to blame the 18-year-old for too much. He has been one of the Londoners’ brightest sparks this season and has been “showing an insane level” among his senior peers this term, so says analyst Ben Mattinson.

Arsenal have been branded by some as toothless in front of goal in recent weeks, and while circumstance is important, Riccardo Calafiori was the only man to strike the target

The Italian defender might have shown some initiative in that instance, but he cost his team dearly as the hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy faded into obscurity.

Why Riccardo Calafiori may have cost Arteta

Calafiori has only started nine Premier League matches since joining Arsenal last summer, but he did himself no favours in claiming a most consistent starting role against West Ham.

He’d been presented with a decent shot at opening the deadlock in the first half, but it was at the other end of the field that Calafiori where will be left red-faced, having been beaten far too easily by Wan-Bissaka before the Hammers man looped a ball into Bowen’s path.

Having failed to win all three of his ground duels, not even attempted a dribble and indeed been beaten by the ball-carrying Wan-Bissaka on two occasions, it was one to forget for the 22-year-old, who cost the Gunners a pretty at £42m including add-ons last summer, joining from Bologna.

He lacked connectivity despite placing one key pass. Moreover, the Italy international was negated by the United low block, failing to even attempt a cross for makeshift centre-forward Mikel Merino – whose strength at number nine, perhaps, lay in his quality in the air.

Much has been made about Arsenal’s struggle attackers, but with Calafiori’s displays thus far hinting that he has work to do before becoming a recognised starter in a talented backline, you wonder whether Arteta will be looking to head back into the left-back market in the future – especially if Lewis-Skelly’s long-term future lies in the centre of the park.

Against West Ham, the Evening Standard certainly felt that Calafiori flattered to deceive, branding the dynamic defender with a 4/10 match rating after a display that left plenty to be desired.

With Oleksandr Zinchenko routinely kept on the sidelines, it’s unlikely that Calafiori will lose his place to the Ukrainian – however, Ben White’s return from injury could see Jurrien Timber take up the left-sided berth.

Last season, Calafiori played 29 of his 37 appearances with Bologna in central defence, playing a dynamic and expansive role but bringing energy to Thiago Motta’s high-flying, Champions League-qualifying side, the beating heart.

He is of course an able and potentially brilliant Premier League left-back, but Arsenal need more energy and drive to stretch and overcome such defensive blocks, averaging a dribble only once every two matches.

If Graham Potter’s West Ham were able to achieve such success against Arsenal, fans will no doubt be concerned heading into next Wednesday’s contest against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, perhaps the division’s most industrious and robust counter-attacking unit.

Calafiori has shown that he is endowed with the technique to make a real name for himself in north London, but this one showed that he has much to do. Loose with his passing and flimsy in the face of attacking adversity, his withdrawal before the hour mark told the full tale.

Perhaps the most concerning part for Calafiori is that he put in a performance that will have done him no favours in leaping ahead of Lewis-Skelly as Arteta’s first-choice left-back – and that’s despite the youngster’s red card.

Arsenal need to press the iron over their many creases in the coming weeks. There is still time to mount a late-stage charge and pressure Liverpool – who have shown themselves susceptible to dropping points – but without more impetus and control, Arteta will likely be resigned to a third runners-up medal on the trot.

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