Football
Tom Fenton 4y

Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette earn 7/10 after combining to sink West Ham

Arsenal sealed a late 1-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday in a game that could well have gone either way. Both sides had good chances to claim all three points, with the Hammers consistently threatening Arsenal on the counter-attack.

Michail Antonio spurned good opportunities, as did Eddie Nketiah at the other end of the pitch, but it was  his replacement -- Alexandre Lacazette -- who grabbed the all-important winner. After a lengthy VAR review, his close-range finish was confirmed as a goal to send the home fans home happy -- in spite of the ragged Arsenal display.

Positives

The notable return of Spaniard Dani Ceballos had a profound effect on the side, especially in the first half. In the deep lying playmaker role, the on-loan Real Madrid man was superb, with his passing and composure on the ball proving to be especially impressive. He ran the show in attack, while Mesut Ozil also enjoyed a fairly productive afternoon playing just ahead of Ceballos. For Arsenal, the task remains finding solidity alongside the obvious flair and creative talent.

Negatives

The home side's inability to build out from the back was obvious from the start, with Pablo Mari especially guilty of conceding possession in dangerous areas. Arsenal looked vulnerable to the counter throughout the first half, with Antonio in particular causing all kinds of problems for the Arsenal back line. Had it not been for interventions from David Luiz and Bernd Leno, the Gunners would have found themselves a goal or two down at the break.

Manager rating out of 10

6 -- Mikel Arteta made the bold call of starting Nketiah, with the academy graduate preferred to Gabriel Martinelli and Lacazette. He struggled at times to find adequate space, which often reduced Arsenal to simply pumping hopeful crosses into the box. Similarly, new signing Mari endured a tough start to life at centre-back, with a series of comical mistakes almost handing the Hammers an early lead. Arteta's brave selection may have backfired, but the introduction of Lacazette saved his blushes late on.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK: Bernd Leno 8 -- Made a handful of excellent stops, as West Ham attempted to catch Arsenal napping on the counter. Similarly, he did very well to prevent Antonio from rounding him when played through on goal, after pushing the ball away for a corner.

DF: Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6 -- Struggled all afternoon at right back, a position the former Dortmund man seldom plays in. He did cannon a header against the West Ham crossbar in the first half, but on the defensive end, he was anything but solid positionally.

DF: David Luiz 7 -- Arsenal's best defender for the duration of the game, after contributing with a number of vital blocks and interceptions. He was also tasked with cleaning up for Mari's plentiful errors.

DF: Pablo Mari 5 -- Was comically bad in the opening minutes, after handing West Ham two counter opportunities from his own wayward passing. He did improve slightly as the game wore on, but it remains a Premier League debut to forget for the club's newest arrival.

DF: Bukayo Saka 8 -- Once again, the prodigious teenager excelled at wing-back. He was always looking to create and advance forward -- and when he did, the end result was often a threatening cross, or a mazy dribble into the box.

MF: Granit Xhaka 6 -- In possession, the powerful midfielder instinctively looked to create openings -- to which he had limited success. Committed one or two needless fouls, as well as almost handing West Ham an early lead thanks to sloppy distribution.

MF: Dani Ceballos 8 -- Arsenal's best player for the first hour, after controlling large spells of the game with crisp passing and marvellous pieces of skill. He was the instigator for much of the home side's attacking joy in the first half -- only to shrink in influence somewhat late on.

MF: Mesut Ozil 7 -- Started brightly but appeared to tire as the match became increasingly stretched. That was, however, until he provided the crucial headed assist for Lacazette's late winner. Ozil back in the assist column can only be good news for Arsenal going forward.

FW: Nicolas Pepe 6 -- When blessed with space to run into, he looked menacing, but unfortunately for the Ivorian, the end product was once again lacking. With a creatively limited wing-back (Sokratis) for support, he also cut an isolated, and frustrated figure at times.

FW: Eddie Nketiah 6 -- Struggled to link up with teammates, while his lack of physical presence was also exposed by the West Ham defenders. However, he did have a two good goal-scoring chances after making sharp runs, but the 20-year-old was denied by Lukasz Fabianski on both occasions.

FW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7 -- Despite his obvious goal-scoring prowess, it was the forward's crossing that caught the eye this afternoon. He was unlucky to have not grabbed an impressive assist, following a fine floated cross that Sokratis then headed against the bar.

Substitutes

Alexandre Lacazette 7 -- Made all the difference in the closing stages, after scoring the winning goal with 10 minutes to go, The linesman's flag man initially denied him a vital winner - but VAR did not.

Reiss Nelson -- N/A

Hector Bellerin -- N/A

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