LONDON -- It might not be easy on the eye, entirely convincing in its totality or a blueprint for the long term, but Arsenal are dragging themselves towards the promised land. With four games to go, none of which look like they will be easily negotiated, Mikel Arteta's side sit two points clear of Tottenham in fourth.
Those are the only points that count at this stage of the season. Style counts for precious little and nor should it. If you have earned three wins from three against Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham United you do not need to show your working. So whilst this version of Arsenal may be built on the most temporary of foundations -- two of their best performers in Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract at the end of the season -- it is effective enough.
For now Tottenham are on their shoulder, but next week Antonio Conte's side must go to Anfield. Their threat on the counter attack may make them a tough match for the Premier League's best, but they would do remarkably well indeed to return from Merseyside with any points. Arsenal will doubtless be tested by a Leeds United side that has been dragged back into the relegation quicksand on a weekend where Burnley and Everton won. Still, this could be their moment. Though we said that before the international break.
"A massive win under very difficult circumstances," was how Arteta described it post match. "We put ourselves in a lot of problems, especially with our decision making in ball possession, the spaces we were attacking, the timing of it, the efficiency of it. But the team showed huge character not to give up, to continue trying to do the right things.
"The way they fought, the way they understood how they have to manage the game in certain moments, the way we defended because we didn't concede anything: it was phenomenal. In England you say win ugly. From my point of view we won ugly today. I was really happy to see a team that has this capacity to find a way to win and show the character they did today."
Takehiro Tomiyasu's return to the Arsenal side was a welcome one; for all that Cedric Soares has performed at a higher level than many might have expected, the Japan international brought a security to the backline that was typified in the two early headers he won. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, his defense operated a one in, one out approach. Ben White was sidelined with what the club termed a "tight hamstring", one which will be assessed over the coming days.
It did not take long to discover what happens when Arsenal are without three of their five most progressive passers (White, Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney). West Ham were able to stifle attacks at source with Rob Holding, Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny in particular taking much too long to get the ball up field. When Bukayo Saka had it at his feet he was able to blow by an out of position Ryan Fredericks at will. Too often he was chasing long passes into the channels that were just what the home defense wanted to face.
That backline and indeed the rest of the side were rather stronger than might have been expected for a side who have a European semifinal either side of this game. Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek were rested, but Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice were retained from the side that lost 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. The latter did as fine a job as anyone has of late in quelling Martin Odegaard.
With Rice driving West Ham forward they looked more than a match for their hosts with a Manuel Lanzini shot well blocked by Holding. He would get the better of him in the other penalty area soon after, the Arsenal center back rising above his marker to flick Saka's corner into the far post.
That should have been it for Arsenal. West Ham had more pressing matters on the horizon and with seven minutes left to go in the first half it seemed that all Arteta's side needed to do was hold firm and wait until David Moyes' withdrew the big guns. These were the "sloppy" moments that so frustrated Arteta. They could not quieten the game on their first attempt, inviting on themselves the sort of pressure that Nuno Tavares is ill-prepared to deal with. He and Gabriel Martinelli both stationed themselves infield as Vladimir Coufal charged down the right, his clipped cross teeing up Jarrod Bowen to volley past a lamentably weak attempt at a block by Gabriel.
Arteta would insist this was not the case but Arsenal seemed like a team who were in danger of freezing as their biggest moment lay in wait, certainly were extremely fortunate that Mike Dean concluded Bowen had dived when he and Aaron Ramsdale were chasing the same long ball outside the penalty area. Arteta will surely not forget those nervy moments in the rush of euphoria that came with the final whistle.
Nor should it go unnoticed that, Saka aside, they looked devoid of ideas from open play when the score was 1-1. Still when the England international's low drive was parried by Lukasz Fabianski it gave the Gunners the set piece they needed to reestablish their lead.
For all that West Ham have a deserved reputation for their attacking firepower off set pieces they are now firmly in the middle of the pack for goals conceded from dead balls, four of their 10 having come since April. Whilst a Hammer head might be on hand to win the initial aerial duel they do not always seem live to where it might drop. Martinelli was, clipping a pass to the back post for Gabriel to head home. Having lambasted his players on Thursday night for what he termed their worst performance off set pieces in two years, Moyes was more sanguine today.
"We've been very good at them over two years," he said. "Today we took some height out of the team but we played much better with the ball. We had a lot of possession, we restricted Arsenal to fewer opportunities. That was the gamble we took and it didn't quite work today."
Not only did this undersized West Ham team allow their visitors to score twice from dead balls, they never quite turned their own corners and free kicks into the heart in mouth moments they often become for opponents. Arsenal were not quite so skittish with their lead second time around but what chances they had were spurned, Eddie Nketiah wasting a string of presentable opportunities running in behind the backline. West Ham were prepared to push forward in search of an equalizer even if it meant leaving the visiting center forward with all the space he wanted to attack, correctly gambling that he would not make them pay.
Moyes could not be faulted for West Ham's commitment to chase the points. Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek entered the fray late on, Bowen and Rice completed 90 minutes ahead of the biggest games of their West Ham careers. On this occasion, however, Arsenal did not buckle. In spite of their wobble after the last international break that has become something of a story for this young team, one that has held on to the bitter end against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea in recent memory. With the finish line in sight they are doing just about enough.
