11 February 2024 , 07:00
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When Arsenal fans looked at the fixture list ahead of the season, the sight of successive games against Liverpool and West Ham may well have sent a chill down their spine.
Last season, it was these back-to-back fixtures which dented their title bid - irrevocably, as it turned out - with Mikel Arteta's team twice throwing away two-goal leads to drop points. There was more misery in December, with the Gunners taking just one point from the two opponents either side of Christmas, but things are looking brighter in 2024.
Last Sunday, Arteta's team were good value for their 3-1 victory over Liverpool, keeping the Reds' front-line quiet for the most part. West Ham weren't at their best earlier that afternoon, though manager David Moyes felt they were better than the 3-0 scoreline at Old Trafford suggested.
Arsenal can't rely on form when it comes to this weekend's London derby, though. Relegation-threatened West Ham hadn't scored more than once in any of their five games before welcoming Arsenal to the London Stadium in April 2023, but they were able to sense weakness and claim a valuable point with repercussions at both ends of the table.
"When you concede at the end it’s always two points dropped because you have it and you’re suffering in certain moments," Arsenal boss Arteta said after the Liverpool draw. His team had led 2-0 inside half an hour, but Liverpool's pressure eventually told with Mohamed Salah pulling one back before half-time and Roberto Firmino scoring a late equaliser.
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“The feeling is ‘Ah we should have done it’. But being fair to ourselves, they had four big chances that they could score and the penalty. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and we should have done better in the second half."
"Looking at the two halves it’s probably a fair result," he added. "You have to take it. The big lesson is probably play the way we did in the first half."
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Roberto Firmino scored a late leveller for Liverpool against Arsenal in April (Getty Images)For the first few minutes at the London Stadium, it appeared Arsenal had learned their lesson. The football they played in the first half at West Ham was as good as any they had played all season, and the 2-0 advantage given to them by Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard inside 10 minutes could easily have become more.
Instead, though, they let West Ham back into the game under no pressure whatsoever. Thomas Partey was robbed by Declan Rice in midfield and the Hammers man fed Lucas Paqueta, with the Brazilian brought down in the box by Gabriel.
Said Benrahma scored from the spot, but Arsenal had a chance to restore their two-goal advantage with a second-half penalty of their own, only for Bukayo Saka to fire wide. West Ham took advantage, snatching an equaliser when Jarrod Bowen beat the offside trap, and might even have snatched a win when Michail Antonio headed against the woodwork late on.
Arsenal squandered another two-goal lead at West Ham (PA)Arteta was clear in his assessment after more dropped points. “We need that ruthless mindset in those moments to go and kill a team," the Spaniard said.
"When the game is there for the killing you have to do it. We dominated the game, dominated the pitch and scored two beautiful goals.
“After that we made a huge mistake to stop playing with the same purpose to score the third and fourth one. We were just thinking we could play around them and maintain the result and just looked too easy. At that moment we gave them hope. Credit to West Ham they took it.”
Arsenal finished second in 2023 after winning just three of their last nine games (Getty Images)Arsenal's fate was still in their own hands after the pair of draws, but the next week they weren't even able to give themselves a lead to hold onto. Relegation-bound Southampton led 2-0 and 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners eventually salvaging a draw which was no good for either side.
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Next came a damaging defeat at Manchester City, and a mini-recovery fell short when Brighton and Nottingham Forest officially ended the Gunners' title hopes with time to spare. Another trip to the Etihad Stadium looms large, though there are six games to come before the late March clash, and Arteta will hope his team have learned their lessons.
The bigger concern going into this weekend's West Ham meeting is the Hammers' two wins over Arsenal earlier this season. The December win in North London was not without controversy, with Tomas Soucek's goal awarded after an inconclusive VAR check, but the Hammers' Carabao Cup win in November was just as worrying.
Arsenal look in better shape than a few weeks ago, though, if the Liverpool game is anything to go by. They've already avoided history repeating itself in the first of the two early February games, and now it's time for them to show last year's nightmare is fully behind them.