Declan Rice came on after Arsenal fell 2-0 down. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Positive #3: Declan Rice shows his importance
Our fragility in midfield was both solved and highlighted further when Declan Rice was introduced into the game from the bench. His physical presence in the middle of the ensured West Ham’s counter-attacks were far less successful and meant were able to sustain attacks with far more ease.
His performance was relatively impressive and demonstrated just how important he is to this Arsenal side already.
On what is somewhat of a side note, I was also very surprised to see the home crowd booing Rice during the match, with most of us surely expecting him to get a warm welcome from both sets of fans.
Negative #3: Lack of creativity
It feels as though I mention our lack of creativity in almost every single one of these pieces, and once again, it was also an issue in this match too.
We recorded 72% possession and registered 14 shots at goal, and yet, as per the xG Philosophy, had an expected goals figure of just 1.03.
It has been a theme of our entire season so far, we dominate the ball, we have plenty of shots in low-probability areas and we often fail to score the goals our dominance deserves. Until this issue is rectified, we will keep suffering shock results of this nature.
pic.twitter.com/eXKcu2B9zS
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1719838058114068645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 1, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<h2>Positive #1: Reiss Nelson</h2>
<p>Reiss Nelson was perhaps the one player who started the match that could hold his head high in the aftermath of the defeat. The 23-year-old was a bright spark throughout and looked our most dangerous player by a long stretch.</p>
<p>He had no goals or assists to show for his efforts, but Nelson certainly deserves credit for his performance in this match.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Another early exit</h2>
<p>One of the biggest criticisms of this Arsenal side under Arteta has been our tendency to exit cup competitions far earlier than we would expect, and often as a result of losing to inferior sides.</p>
<p>In recent years, we have been eliminated by Nottingham Forest multiple times, Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League last season, and now West Ham in the Carabao Cup to name a few examples, and Arteta <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://www.arsenal.com/read-every-word-mikel-arteta-post-match-press-conference-transcript-west-ham-carabao-cup">expressed his disappointment at yet another early exit from the cup after the game, saying:</p>
<blockquote><p>“I’m very disappointed. Obviously I’m responsible for that, we are out of the cup and we wanted to play a very different game, and especially we wanted to compete in a game like this, which we discussed for 48 hours, in a very different way to what we’ve done.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Yes, competitions such as the Premier League and Champions League are important, but trophies are critical and we need to start performing in these matches with more consistency.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_137354" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-137354" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1760538170-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1760538170-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1760538170-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1760538170-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1760538170-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Martin Odegaard scored a late consolation. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #2: Martin Odegaard scores</h2>
<p>It may have been nothing more than a mere consolation goal, but Odegaard’s stoppage-time strike could be exactly what the Norwegian playmaker needs to rediscover his best form.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old has largely struggled for form in recent weeks, possibly partly explained by fatigue given he has been rested in our last two fixtures. But, fatigued or not, his form hasn’t been good enough of late and that must change.</p>
<p>Perhaps this goal, coupled with the rest afforded to him by Arteta, can be the catalyst for an upturn in his form.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Lacklustre midfield</h2>
<p>Before kick-off, I was already worried about how this game would go after I saw our lineup. In my opinion, a midfield three of Jorginho, Fabio Vieira and Kai Havertz is simply too lightweight, especially against a physical and direct side such as West Ham.</p>
<p>As the game progressed, it became clear that I was correct and while those players were adept at keeping hold of the ball and recycling possession, David Moyes’ side were bypassing them with counter-attacks, both with far too much regularity and far too much ease.</p>
<p>It has become clear, in my opinion at least, that <a title="Why injuries plague Arsenal’s Thomas Partey" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/10/29/injuries-plague-arsenals-thomas-partey/" rel="">without Thomas Partey</a> or Declan Rice, our midfield options lack the physicality needed to effectively control a game.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_137355" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-137355" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1758705362-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1758705362-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1758705362-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1758705362-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1758705362-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Declan Rice came on after Arsenal fell 2-0 down. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #3: Declan Rice shows his importance</h2>
<p>Our fragility in midfield was both solved and highlighted further when Declan Rice was introduced into the game from the bench. His physical presence in the middle of the ensured West Ham’s counter-attacks were far less successful and meant were able to sustain attacks with far more ease.</p>
<p>His performance was relatively impressive and demonstrated just how important he is to this Arsenal side already.</p>
<p>On what is somewhat of a side note, I was also very surprised to see the home crowd booing Rice during the match, with most of us surely expecting him to get a warm welcome from both sets of fans.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Lack of creativity</h2>
<p>It feels as though I mention our lack of creativity in almost every single one of these pieces, and once again, it was also an issue in this match too.</p>
<p>We recorded 72% possession and registered 14 shots at goal, and yet, as per the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://twitter.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1719828434476499260">xG Philosophy</a>, had an expected goals figure of just 1.03.</p>
<div class="embed ">
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<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“3 standout players from defeat in Carabao Cup” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-exit-carabao-cup/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/11/02/3-standout-arsenal-players-defeat-carabao-cup-west-ham/embed/#?secret=Q7eoGxASbd#?secret=2w50zXcWdI" data-secret="2w50zXcWdI" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>It has been a theme of our entire season so far, we dominate the ball, we have plenty of shots in low-probability areas and we often fail to score the goals our dominance deserves. Until this issue is rectified, we will keep suffering shock results of this nature.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
