Mikel Arteta has come under fire for his “strange” substitutions after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham, which dealt a blow to their Premier League title hopes.
With their sights set on catching Liverpool and winning the Premier League, Arsenal’s aspirations were dented further on Saturday as they lost to West Ham.
Despite midfielder Mikel Merino’s solid performance in last week’s win over Leicester, Arteta’s decision to push him forward proved ineffective, as Arsenal struggled to break down West Ham and conceded a goal just before half-time from Jarrod Bowen.
Arteta introduced Myles Lewis-Skelly and Oleksandr Zinchenko with 30 minutes left, but former England goalkeeper Rob Green criticized the substitutions as “strange.”
The changes had little impact on the game, and Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Lewis-Skelly was sent off for a foul on Mohammed Kudus.
Though Kudus had a lot to do, the red card came as there were no defenders covering and goalkeeper David Raya was far off his line, with Lewis-Skelly judged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.
On BBC Radio 5 Live, Green commented: “The substitutions were a little strange from Mikel Arteta. Declan Rice offers a presence in the box with his late runs, and Oleksandr Zinchenko adds some craft in midfield, but it felt like more left-backs coming onto the pitch.”
Jarrod Bowen scored West Ham’s winner against Arsenal.
He also praised West Ham’s performance, especially the excellent goal from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jarrod Bowen.
This defeat leaves Arsenal eight points behind Liverpool, who face Manchester City on Sunday.
Meanwhile, West Ham, under Graham Potter, move level with Manchester United on 30 points, now 13 points clear of the relegation zone.
