West Ham 1-3 Arsenal: 3 things we learned

Lukas Podolski of Arsenal (L) celebrates with Theo Walcott as he scores their third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal.

The two London clubs faced off at Upton Park, as both sides were looking to finish 2013 with a flourish.

1. Arsenal need a new striker

A mediocre performance from Olivier Giroud shows that he is still lacking confidence to shine in big games. The French striker missed couple of easy chances today, and his goal drought extends to seven games. To be honest, he is no way the striker should a title contending team like Arsenal should have.

Although the Gunners showed their resilient side in the last 20 minutes, it will not be enough when the return games against Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool roll around. They need a better striker like Benzema, Diego Costa or Chicharito to compete in big games.

2. West Ham can avoid relegation if they try hard enough

The Hammers have definitely been one of the most underwhelming teams of the Premier League season so far, but a good performance against Arsenal shows that they are good enough to survive, and are better than the likes of Hull City and Sunderland.

Of course, with their current squad, and Sam Allardyce as head coach, avoiding relegation will be West Ham’s main goal, and if they want to move forward, they will have to re-generate the first team, and release the experienced English coach.

3. Theo Walcott could be Arsenal’s saviour this season

Theo Walcott is criticised for only really being able to run, and also for his lack of any real footballing talent. Though at least his finishing has improved and now he could turn into the player that Arsene Wenger was hoping for. Two goals today saved the Gunners blushes against a West Ham team they should really be sweeping aside, but at least the England international has finally found his clinical side, as it will help Arsenal greatly in the title run.

Should Arsene Wenger look for a new striker in January and fail to sign one, it may be worth a go to give Walcott a chance at leading the line. It may take the former Southampton man a few weeks to work on positioning, and his speed will work against Arsenal when it comes to playing sides who deploy the offside trap, but his speed and clinicality could lead Arsenal to something big this season.