Gunners back to winning ways!

Arsenal 2-0 West Brom

Arsenal returned to winning ways on Saturday with a vastly improved performance from the lacklustre display in the loss against Swansea. The Gunners passing game was back, with the link up play between Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshere particularly impressive as Arsenal were also able to fashion several goal scoring opportunities, something that has been missing of late.

However they were helped by two dubious refereeing decisions, as well as a West Brom side that showed a distinct lack of ambition. Although the Baggies arrived at the Emirates on the back of two defeats, they had made an extremely impressive start to the season and this coupled with the fact that Arsenal were experiencing a torrid run of form, led many to believe that the visitors would be fired up for a game in which they had a strong chance of winning. Yet West Brom made their intentions clear from the start of the game, as Boaz Myhill continually did his best to waste as much time as possible while taking goal kicks. Steve Clarke’s side were clearly more than happy to leave the Emirates with a point and their game suffered as a result as they posed absolutely no attacking threat whatsoever.

The Baggies were simply there for the taking and Arsenal sides of old would have put this game to bed by half time, but this was a team lacking in confidence following their recent poor results and consequently, their composure in front of goal deserted them at times. Gervinho should have given the home side the lead in the first few minutes, but he didn’t connect cleanly enough with the ball and his volleyed effort trickled wide of the goal, before Cazorla blazed over from Oxlade Chamberlain’s cut back. The Gunners were constantly threatening to break the deadlock and in the 26^th minute got their just deserts, through a Mikel Arteta penalty. While the home side’s play had merited the lead, the penalty award itself had arrived by foul means. As Cazorla danced into the penalty area, he cut inside Steven Reid, who attempted to dispossess the Spaniard but completely missed the ball as well as Cazorla. The former Malaga man instantly threw himself to the ground, rolling around and clutching his ankle, despite having not been touched. Referee, Mike Jones, fell for his antics and pointed to the spot, much to the consternation of the Baggies players. It is always a shame to see such a supremely talented player resort to such despicable measures. Cazorla also took a dive during last week’s game against Swansea and we can only hope that this will not become a regular occurrence.

Arteta, who had seen his previous penalty attempt saved in the last minute against Fulham, stood up once more. This time the Spaniard drilled the ball down the middle of the goal and a roar of sheer relief erupted around the Emirates Stadium as the ball hit the back of the net. Having taken the lead, the Gunners seemed to relax and were unlucky not to see their advantage double a few minutes later. Gervinho broke free on the left hand side of the area and showed the composure that is so often lacking when the Ivorian is bearing down to goal, to just wait before releasing the right pass. Unfortunately on this occasion, the onrushing Jack Wilshere just could not make enough contact with the ball, as he slid in, to divert it into the goal and the chance was lost.

West Brom were not in this game at all, but could have easily been granted a way back into it when Per Mertesacker needlessly threw his arm in the air as the ball was crossed into the box, making contact with the ball and providing the referee with a perfect opportunity to make amends for his earlier poor decision and award the visitors a penalty. Luckily for Arsenal, a free kick was awarded for a push on the German instead and the threat was averted.

In the second half the Gunners picked up where they had left off, as they continued to utterly dominate the game. Oxlade-Chamberlain brushed the bar with an effort from Wilshere’s cross, before Gervinho headed wide and miskicked in front of goal. It was a terrible miss from the Ivorian, but Arsenal would not be made to pay and their second goal of the afternoon arrived in the 64^th minute, thanks to Oxlade-Chamberlain’s endeavour. The Englishman lost possession as he attempted to control the ball on his chest, but then was able to rob Popov, which West Brom claimed was a foul, before being felled in the area by Chris Brunt. The referee could have awarded the Baggies a free kick for the foul on Popov, but had allowed play to go on and pointed to the spot once more. Arteta stepped up again to drill the ball down the centre of the goal in a mirror image of his first half strike.

The home side were now extremely comfortable and simply saw out the rest of the game. Lukas Podolski came off the bench to somehow blaze a shot high over the bar when it seemed far easier to score and the game petered out with West Brom failing to trouble the Arsenal goal.

This was a much needed victory for the Gunners. Following the abysmal display against Swansea and the booing which ensued, it would have been easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves and hide. But instead they showed great character and self-belief to come out and play their own game. While the decisions of Mike Jones did significantly influence the game, Arsenal dominated proceedings and fully deserved their win. If Wenger’s side can continue in this vein, they will continue to create several goal scoring opportunities and their composure in front of goal will also soon return as their confidence improves. The return to full fitness of Jack Wilshere is of paramount importance to this team as the young man’s tenacity, never say die attitude and supreme quality really drives this team forward. If only we had ten more like him!