Arsenal made hard work of the first half against West Ham, and could easily have conceded many more goals, but you also must agree that our old keeper Fabianski had another great performance against us. We improved in the second half and although we still made defensive errors we were much more positive going forward and finally put the game to bed.
I would say that Emery definitely knows how to change games with his substitutions, which is a bit of fresh air for us Gooners who are used to 70th minute subs whatever the situation. It would seem that Emery also believes the changes are working, although he admits the Hammers caused us lots of problems.
He said after the game: “They are also a good team with a good coach and good players. Also, they can give us problems for our defence. It’s clear that if we defend with more people in the moment, we can lose our performance for the attacking moments. For that, we need the balance not to lose our attacking moments with this balance. But I think we need to improve. Today, I think the first half and the second half is very different. I think in the second half we found this balance better, because we spoke in the dressing room and after the substitutions of players, it made a difference in the second half and it is very important also to help and we need every player.”
This is telling me that he knows the value of each player and in what situations they can be useful. I have certainly been impressed with his use of substitutes and long may it continue!
Sam P