West Ham 1-0 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points

#2 Mesut mystery continues as Gunners miss his creativity

Arsenal missed this man's creativity, on a day where they failed to regularly create clear-cut chances

Arsenal started brightly here and combined well to create a few half-chances, but ultimately this was to no avail. Lacazette, Aubameyang and Matteo Guendouzi all had opportunities to score, though their early dominance wasn't reflected in the scoreline - which was still goalless at the interval.

West Ham were providing them far too much time and space in midfield to venture forward with, though they were not being punished for indulging their opponents. This was something the Gunners were later made to regret.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who performed fairly well, was replaced by Hector Bellerín in Emery's final change for extra attacking impetus - though their best creative player in Mesut Özil was nowhere to be seen. Left out of the matchday squad by Emery altogether, it was painfully clear that they missed the German's invention in attacking areas and instead, we saw plenty of sloppy play with possession being relinquished far too easily at times.

Introducing both Lucas Torreira and Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey to provide more energy in midfield could've had an instant impact, if Aubameyang was not wasteful with his two chances in quick succession on-goal.

Ramsey, a second-half substitute, tried his utmost to help get Arsenal back into the game - it was futile

Granit Xhaka tried with his excellent passing range, while Alex Iwobi fluttered in-and-out at times with his surging runs forward, but both are easier to defend against than Mesut's intricate movements. This game was the type crying out for Özil to take control of, leading his team to victory. Instead, it has resulted in yet another winnable game that Arsenal have lost this season.