West Ham 0-1 Arsenal: David Raya spares Mikel Arteta’s blushes after right-back Declan Rice’s play destabilizes the Gunners | football news

Amid the scenes and chaos at the London Stadium, Mikel Arteta gave his goalkeeper David Raya a huge hug. “It deserves the hug,” Gary Neville said.

There were many flashpoints from the game that put Arsenal on the brink of the Premier League title. Although Callum Wilson’s disallowed goal would dominate the headlines – there were two big moments in five crucial minutes that sent Arsenal to victory.

As Arsenal went on to claim the title, Ryan’s stunning save to deny Matthews Fernandes to put West Ham 1-0 up would go down in Gunners folklore.

The shot had an expected goal (xG) rating of 0.54. Simply put, Fernandez had no chance to score. The odds were stacked against the Arsenal goalkeeper.

And five minutes later, Arsenal went ahead with Leandro Trossard’s goal. It can be so different.

The only flaw in what was a positive day for Arsenal was that it didn’t need to be so close. In an already tense atmosphere, Arsenal stepped on the gas early and should have gone ahead – but Arteta’s plan unraveled as a result of his own doing.

Ben White’s injury was an unfortunate turn of events for Arsenal but it was how Arteta responded to it that made matters worse. Arsenal boss brought on Martin Zubiemendi and moved the Gunners’ key from the middle of the pitch to Declan Rice at right-back.

Now there was honest thought in playing Rice at right-back. He has done it before in an Arsenal shirt – playing 90 minutes in that role during a 2-1 win over Brighton in December. Rice is great at that game, so why couldn’t he at West Ham?

It ended Arsenal’s early momentum with a self-sucking punch and gave West Ham confidence. The Hammers thrived in transition, with Crescencio Summerville twice running dangerously at Rice.

A counter-attack down the right, which bypassed the light midfield of Jubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelley, saw Tati Castellanos test Raya for his first big save of the night. West Ham back in the game, Arsenal upset.

“The Arsenal midfield is open now and the right is not locked down,” said Gary Neville on co-commentary duty.

“It’s obvious but if I were Michael Arteta I’d think about taking Rice to the middle of the park.”

That was rectified at half-time by the arrival of Cristian Mosquera at right-back, with Rice in the middle. Although this was due to an injury to Riccardo Calafiori – the Italian was probably needed if not injured.

Still, Arsenal struggled and to his credit – Arteta changed it again, this time positively. Jubimendi – who had just 39 minutes in the tank – was dropped for Martin Odegaard. The Arsenal captain’s return to the team was vital, and he set up Trossard’s winner with a superb assist.

“Jubi had a tough one,” Arteta said. “But I really felt we had to have two attacking midfielders at that point to create all sorts of problems and threats and thank God it worked.

“Martin, coming in, he’s had an incredible impact on the game.”

But still, Arteta’s constant cuts and changes, not entirely his own fault but not handled in the best way, destabilized his team when it didn’t need to be. Mosquera could have replaced Saada and Arsenal might not have lost control of the game, with Rice in the middle of the pitch.

But in moving Rice’s position, he effectively killed two positions, which West Ham needed. At half-time, he switched to full-back.

Redknapp: One of the biggest mistakes a manager can make

It all contributed to that Fernandez moment, where Raya bailed on his manager. “If Arsenal hadn’t won today, I think a lot of people would have been looking at 25 minutes when he played Declan Rice at right-back,” Jamie Redknapp said.

“It was one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever see a manager make at such a crucial time.”

Gary Neville, agreed to speak on his podcast.

He said: “It could be a game changer for Mikel Arteta. Obviously, winning the Champions League is huge, but it won’t give him the credibility (that a Premier League title would give him)…but he’s a bit lucky.

“When he went and put Declan Rice right back, I just thought, no.

“It’s not for a number of reasons. One is, you’re taking energy from the midfield and secondly, you’re disrupting two positions instead of one.

“For Man United and Liverpool, you can’t move Roy Keane and Steven Gerrard out of central midfield, in a game of this magnitude. They’re forces of nature. You can’t move Rhys, and I still don’t give him the same level as Roy Keane and Steven Gerrard, but he has that level of influence on Arsene.

“When Declan Rice goes right back, it doesn’t just do the things I just mentioned from Arsenal’s point of view, I’m sure the West Ham players on the pitch will get a boost and from a defensive point of view, you’re taking away Rice’s energy.

“West Ham, all of a sudden, started to get space, they got space and the midfield looked a bit more empty.

“It was a really, really bad decision, and I’m comfortable saying that because Arteta accepted it was a bad decision because he corrected it 15 minutes later at half-time. He knew it was a bad decision.”

Arteta’s big change this season

Lessons to be learned for Arteta next week. He may not face such a scenario again in the Premier League – as Arsenal’s last two games are at home to Burnley, then against Crystal Palace three days before their Conference League final.

However, the Champions League final is less than three weeks away. Arterator replacements at big moments have been questionable in the past.

In the Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester City, his indecisiveness and failure to convert early in the second half helped City’s pressure become overwhelming. His triple change also looked panicked in the 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth in April.

All managers face scrutiny for selection and replacement – even Arteta’s mentor Pep Guardiola was accused of overthinking the final during his prime.

It’s also worth noting that Arteta has made plenty of positive and bold substitutions this season – including bringing on 16-year-old Max Daumann against Everton in March. But the Rice experiment was a reminder that there is a step too far.

If it wasn’t for his goalkeeper – and a bit of help from VAR – Arsenal’s Premier League title might be further away than it is.