Forget Eberechi Eze, Mikel Arteta thinks Arsenal have a new ‘chaotic’ attacking star

Add as preferred source on Google

Mikel Arteta will know that his Arsenal side were well worth their 2-0 win against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.

Bizarrely, West Ham beat Arsenal twice in a row in their previous two visits to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal beat West Ham 6-0 and 5-2 away from home in 2024, but they’ve not enjoyed home fixtures against the Hammers of late.

Thankfully for Mikel Arteta, Declan Rice was excellent against his old team and Arsenal never looked like losing to West Ham this time around.

Supporters in N5 will have been wary of any ‘new manager bounce’ under Nuno Espirito Santo, but Arsenal were simply too good for that to be a factor.

Mikel Arteta praises Riccardo Calafiori’s attacking efforts against West Ham

That being said, Arteta thought that Arsenal had a new difference-maker in attack against West Ham.

Speaking in his post-match presser, Arteta celebrated Riccardo Calafiori’s ‘chaotic’ efforts against the Hammers.

In the summer, Eberechi Eze arrived as Arsenal’s new creator in chief – the former Crystal Palace man was meant to be Arteta’s new maverick.

However, Arteta’s post-match comments suggested it was actually Calafiori who was doing a lot of that work against West Ham.

READ MORE: Eberechi Eze thinks Arsenal have a player who could become the next Nuno Espirito Santo

Speaking about Calafiori’s role, Arteta said: “A lot of dynamism, sometimes a bit chaotic but I think his dynamism and the spaces and the situations that he can create are very difficult to control for the opponent, especially against a team that is very well-organised. 

“You have to disrupt their organisation in order to create chances and I think we’ve done that really well.”

Mikel Merino celebrated Calafiori’s attacking efforts earlier this season too, and it’s clear that the Italian is making a big difference. 

Myles Lewis-Skelly will have to be very patient at Arsenal

Despite his extraordinary 2024/25 campaign, Myles Lewis-Skelly has had to settle for a new role as a substitute owing to Calafiori’s excellent form.

Arteta strongly praised Lewis-Skelly following his performance against Olympiacos, and rightly so, the defender was exceptional.

But there’s still no sign that Arteta is about to drop Calafiori – the Italian seems more important than ever.

In addition, Piero Hincapie might return from injury this month, and it’s believed that the Ecuadorian will get chances at left-back, even if he is predominantly a central defender.

Arsenal’s squad depth is better than it’s ever been, and it will now be quite common for top talent to be sat on the bench.

Despite Arsenal’s need for a win, Arteta chose to rest Martin Zubimendi against West Ham.

And it will now be a difficult task for the Spaniard to manage minutes across his squad, but as the saying goes, it’s a positive problem to have.