Today's match at the Emirates was anything but entertaining. West Ham, who are the Prem League's last place team, came out of the blocks in a sprint and looked to open the scoring several times in the first few minutes.
Arsenal again lacked good midfield passing. Nasri and Fabregas were poor, both losing possession too many times.
Without the crisp passing in the midfield, Marouane had no chance for a good ball in the final third. Couple that with their poor crosses (open play and corners) and they were wasting chances left and right. They haven't seemed to capitalize on Marouane's height and heading prowess since the first matches of the season. That could prove costly down the road.
Marouane received a yellow card after a touchline tussle with Da Costa. The latter had been very physical all afternoon. During a previous corner, he had pulled down Marouane in the area and he was furious not to be awarded a penalty. On the touchline, he was pushed, tugged at, and impeded by Da Costa, who then flung himself to the ground. Marouane received the yellow, but the words between the two kept flying and they had to be separated. I have to agree with Marouane because Da Costa had been a thug throughout most of the match and hadn't been penalized.
The match remained 0-0 at the half and the second-half was more of the same. It wasn't until the 87' that anyone could find a clear chance to score. Alex Song thumped in a close-range killer and Arsenal lead 1-0. That was the ending score and quite honestly, I don't think the Gunners deserved the three points. West Ham played just as well and should have gone away with at least 1 point.
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