WHAT a difference a striker makes.
And if Mikel Arteta needed any more convincing, that is NOT Mikel Merino, as Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes took another fatal dagger to the heart.
ReutersMyles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity[/caption]
GettyJarrod Bowen celebrates his first goal since returning from injury[/caption]
APArsenal’s title hopes suffered a huge blow[/caption]
With two match-winning goals off the bench to help the injury-stricken Gunners past Leicester last weekend, 28-year-old midfielder Merino was given a first start of his senior career as a No.9.
At the King Power, it worked a treat. But we now know that to be a fluke.
Across 90 minutes at the Emirates against West Ham, for all his effort, the lumbering Spaniard looked out of his depth.
Down the other end, Hammers forward Jarrod Bowen gave Merino a painful No.9 101 – one chance, one goal, with the instincts of a top class Prem predator in the 44th minute to take all three points.
Merino will be criticised, but this was an all-round uninspiring display from Arteta’s men – inviting Liverpool to go 11 points clear to basically wrap things up.
Injuries may have left them without a centre forward, but their title chase should not be fading this badly, and it will only get worse if this is all Arsenal can muster.
It also helps to have 11 men on the pitch, another of their Achilles heels this season.
In the 1-0 win at Wolves on January 25, it was a hugely controversial dismissal of Myles Lewis-Skelly by ref Michael Oliver, one that was overturned days later.
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This one, however, was pretty clear cut, given by Craig Pawson in the 73rd minute after a VAR monitor review, Lewis-Skelly – 17 minutes after coming on – tripping Mohammed Kudus on the half-way line as last man.
This was a welcome reprieve for Graham Potter, who continues his fine managerial form at this ground – a fourth win in five visits – and a first Prem win in five for the East Londoners.
West Ham just love bursting the Arsenal bubble – their 2-0 victory here last season ultimately costing Arteta the title. It may well do again.
Despite Arsenal’s lack of firepower, Potter reverted to a five at the back in search of a first Prem away of his Hammers tenure – and a first for the club this calendar year.
Rush Green product Ollie Scarles, 19, got his first top flight start at left wing-back, tasked with keeping another teenage sensation in Ethan Nwaneri, 17, quiet.
James Ward-Prowse was also thrown in from the off – attempting to revive his West Ham career after being shipped out on loan to Nottingham Forest in the summer under Julen Lopetegui.
But all eyes were on Merino. In true Arteta tight-lipped fashion, he hinted in the build-up that he had been trialling a few down-the-middle alternatives in training during the week.
So to opt for Merino from the off was bold, not that Arteta had much choice given Raheem Sterling’s disasterclass of a display at the King Power had rightly won him a place on the bench for this one.
What a surreal part of Merino’s career. Deemed a midfield flop at Newcastle in 2017, he arrived in North London in the summer as a matured Euros winner with Spain with a point to prove in England.
Six months later, he is leading the line for an injury-hit Arsenal in pursuit of a long-awaited Prem title. A daunting prospect, but no one, it seems, has told Merino that.
Fearless in his approach, he was anywhere and everywhere, covering every blade of grass, perhaps too much at times.
The exuberance and excitement of a dog on his first ever trip to the beach with a crazed smile and tongue flapping in the wind.
For a while, it proved effective. Up against big lump Max Kilman he won an early flick-on, smothered a loose ball and almost nicked a ball off Alphonse Areola with a well-timed press.
But the early enthusiasm and impact quickly faded. While his timing darts into the box against a tiring Foxes back line was inch-perfect, on this occasion he was consistency a yard or two short.
Leandro Trossard’s whipped delivery across the face of goal had Kilman stumped, something Merino had not anticipated, and shortly after could only get a toe to Thomas Partey’s angled cross.
Merino remained persistent, blazing over at the near post while straying offside. His obvious limitations as a centre forward growing ever clearer inside 45 minutes at the Emirates.
What Arteta could not have expected was such a resolute West Ham defence, one that had imitated a bunch of comedy circus clowns last week in their 1-0 home defeat to Brentford.
With such a solid base, Potter’s boys were able to be braver on the ball – Aaron Wan-Bissaka galloping into space left by Riccardo Calafiori down the right and cutting the ball back.
A player of Bowen’s quality should have found the target, instead shanking wide.
A warning shot for the hosts that they did not learn from – conceding from a replica attack with the half almost up and weary legs on show as Jurrien Timber lost the ball just outside West Ham’s box.
Bowen collected and carried and set Wan-Bissaka away, yet it was Calafiori’s passive defending that allowed him to run from the half-way line and into a crossing position.
Fingers were being pointed all around as Bowen headed in from a few yards out. Gabriel should have cut out the danger, but it was Rice who had lost his marker Bowen at the crucial moment – having covered ground to run back with his old East London pal.
An anxiety-inducing half watched with glee on Merseyside, but with gritted teeth in North London.
Merino continued to flounder after the break, mistiming a jump from a Nwaneri cross, yet Arteta had no one to replace him with.
But changes were made just 10 minutes into the second half. Rice – to the delight of the taunting away end – did not look happy to be hauled off for Oleksandr Zinchenko, despite his ineffective afternoon.
Calafiori also made way for Lewis-Skelly, but the 18-year-old was soon back down the tunnel, scuppering any hope of late comeback – not that it ever looked like coming, even with eight minutes of injury time.
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