Even with Arsenal playing at home and in good form and confidence, this game always had the potential to be a banana skin for the Gunners, especially with Arsene Wenger having to rotate in the middle of a heavy run of fixtures.
Arsenal started well. We nearly got Theo Walcot in on goal for the first minute and it seemed that the Gunners were fully focused for this game. Koscielny snuffed out a half chance while Coquelin and Ramsey were bossing midfield. We should have been ahead after five minutes but Walcott just hesitated before pulling the trigger. He might have won a penalty for Collins’ tackle but the move that he started with Ozil and Giroud was very encouraging.
Another good chance came and went as Alexis also dithered a bit but it seemed like it was just a matter of time before Arsenal did score. But although we kept creating chances and dominating the game, West Ham were very well organised and wrked hard to frustrate us. They had a few chances of their own as well, with Chambers being exposed a couple of times and Ospina having to make a good save and Koscielny needing to be alert.
Walcott had just missed a third good chance, although Ozil should have scored and the rebound was tough for Theo and it looked like we would be all square at the break until Giroud showed what a goood finisher he is by lashing in a fearsome strike into the top corner in stoppage time. That eased the pressure.
But we failed to push on after the restart while West Ham gave it a good go, making our defence work a lot more. Koscielny was excellent though and Chambers was better after a shaky first 45. Jarvis was a real threat and one great cross nearly caught Ospina out.
Welbeck for Alexis and Cazorla for Walcott gave us fresh legs and impetus and the excellent Ramsey was rewarded for his great play with the killer goal helped by Giroud with 10 minutes to play. It soon became three as Giroud and Cazorla combined and Flamini was on hand to tap home and make it 3-0.
The score did not flatter Arsenal. Now can we do the same on Tuesday?
GIROUD was MOTM
ExactLy the right SCORES we need on Tuesday….. CLeansheet by the way!…….3rd place consolidated for the week……Manure and pooL are getting nervous down there……… Hey monaco! Watch this space
this was by far the best arsenal performance for me. brilliant.
Kos MOTM, saved our clean sheet
Giroud a warrior at the front, Coquelin a warrior in the middle, and Koscielny a warrior at the back. Difficult to choose between the 3 for MOTM, but I thought Kos has the most flawless game of the 3. If we put in a performance like that Vs Monaco there’s every chance we could win it.
man in form girond na nnaaaaaaaanaaaaaaaaaaa naaaaaaaaaaa giroud
santi class apart
Giroud scored a screamer, set up Ramsey for the second with a lovely dummy and pass,and was involved in the third goal with a magical flick,man of the match to giroud.simply world class.well done giroud my main man,well done Ramsey,well done the entire team,great win,
He also linked up with walcott but walcott was fouled no pk was given big respect to #GIROUD & THE GUNNERS! !!
Giroud, Koscielny, Coquelin and Ramsey were the best out there. Ramsey played really well today, and he has been playing better recently, he has quality to play as he did last year. COYG! Let’s see what we have on Tuesdat
Team played well today, when you look at the points table it makes you wonder ” What If” what if we had hold on and gotten a few more points what if we had Gabriel all along when Kos was out injured and Mert struggled what if we sign two more players what a good team we can be
“But io can’t rememeber any player so scared of shooting the ball like Ozil is”
Chamakh?
Hleb
He tries to get others to score his overal game is fab,also how many times do you see him in the box to score and he doesn’t get the pass. I’ll take him as he is oh we scored 2 after Sanches went off ,he is the worst when it comes to not passing the ball he is getting a bit selfish you can’t say that about Ozil.
To b Honest this was Giroud’s best game so far….hope u it’s not his best ever.
He only competes with coquiline for MOTM.
The rest of the guys weren’t that bad either except 4chambers being clueless some times while defending though he was good up front with sublime crosses. Then walcot needs 2calm down n finish, i like his great runs behind defenders
Boss is one of the top 10 CB’s in the world and I can’t imagine him pairing with the likes of Hummels, Subotic, Dragovich! Schar, etc. No disrespect to BFG but an upgrade opposite of Boss would significantly strengthen Arsenals back line and probably extend the Frenchmans career by a few years.
Gabriel is the answer to your question.
Those so tasty ham sandwiches!!! Coqelin tackles so nice!
A bit scrappy at times, but will take the win. Giroud MOTM for me.
dont worry what people say bro, it was pretty spot on, numbers may have seemed low for a 3-0 win, thats maybe why the thumbs, add two points to each one and you make the crowd happy
‘Wengerball’ at its finest!!!
3-0 to the arsenal! 3precious points! Coyg!
giroud is showing his class he is best passer of ball in all PL striker
santi what a player amazing
Santi is just magic.
Damn Right
The happiness of KNOCKING UNITED OUT OF THE FA CUP @ OLD TRAFFORD (hehehe) continues
Now we need another 3-0 win Tuesday night.
MOTM either Giroud, Ramsey or the coq again not sure. Thought Chambers had a great game today as well. Nice tactics by Wenger i feel to play him, as he adds the extra height at the back which you need against West Ham. COYG!!!
Chambers was terrible everytime he had to defend, we got lucky that West Ham are not a top team, Chambers was left for dead on the few occasions they attacked us in the first half…
He just makes me nervous at RB,…
It took him a while to adjust distance between him and Walcott. Walcott was too advanced so it is easy to observe that Chambers had to keep the distance to his peer. But once they adjusted the distance it went pretty well. Don’t forget that more than 50% of the breaks we had were initiated with Chambers as the first passer.
Le coq was great, awesome game from him again! Coyg!
I say GIROUD has to have an 8 too. He was brilliant. Ramsey and Giroud were the best today.
Ramsey!!!!!! Some fans are blind ….. He was awful til the goal which was a nice take …. Lost the ball stupid flicks no composure …. Need carzola ozil and Alex starting all the time now …. Hopefully wilshere can show some holding form when he gets back and bellerin at right back ASAP as chambers is a liability defending …Walcott on the bench and sold in summer … A quality striker and a central defender come DM in summer and should be ok
you’re blind if you think Ramsey had a bad game. Like im seriously worried if you think that… Behind Giroud I think he was the 2nd best along with Kos today. Everyone was really good this game. (Chambers and Walcott still I question though)
Kos MOTM, he kept our clean sheet,, if not for him we would have conceded first
@rkw… What are you smoking at your house???
Sell walcott haha u funny plz stfu u sound stupid get off that molly u takin hahaa
suggest you watch the game again….idiot ramsey fans part of 4th place junkiedom…. just count the number of backward and lateral passes silly flicks mishit shots etc
Jack should be
Nothing less than deserved. Clear, albeit grinding at times, victory which consolidates our position. Games at home will be crucial and points here will probably make it or break it for us.
I think everyone sees now why Wenger is not playing Walcott. Is simply form. Nothing to do with the contract or some kind of revenge. Also do not forget what Theo had to go through with his son surgery.
Koscielny (MOTM) made it looks so easy against such a poor WHU side. Kos made it big for Mert as well. Monreal is the revelation of the season. Ozil still struggles for concentration although I love how he moves in the field, just love it. Sanchez is a bit tired but he’d do well eventually. Glad to see Ramsey getting the form he used us with.
What can I say, was easier as the score says even if in the first half we were frustrated by the fact that the players did not took the chances we had.
One more thing, I am so pleased we signed Welbeck. Dat guy gives some other dimension to our game. You gotta love him, I tell you.
What about giroud,u didn’t even mention our OG
Giroud & Coquelin don’t even deserved to be mentioned among the outstanding players this season. It is a given every game.
Nice, now let us beat monaco.
Laurent Koscuelny MOTM for me. The number of times he helped out others was uncountable. Too much underrated. Best player on the pitch by a mile.
MOTM too tough, clean sheet as the back line and Coq played flawless, but then OG looked better than I have maybe ever seen him, aramsey was sublime as well, usually when he finds the goal, then the flood gate opens, 1 pt behind City!
Im happy that david ospina got a clean sheet today, for his efforts between the sticks! Well played! Coyg!
Also. Welbeck did more in 30 minutes than Walcott did in 60. With Welbeck the affect was clearly visible.
And Ramsey is slowly cominh back baby. Wishper it. And touch wood.
Welbeck was like a headless chicken too when he came on, he did fck all.. Just running and ignoring his team mates, runs into a dead ends ending up losing possession because the chance is gone. Walcott is much better headless chicken than Welbeck.
There is a reason Welbeck is starting ahead of Walcott. And it’s not injury that i can say you.
Agree. AW is just in picking Welbeck ahead of Theo. Walcott just isn’t there yet in decision making like he was before his injury. Hopefully it comes back but its not there yet. We all know how devastating Theo can be on his day though.
Actually, it is “Welbeck did more in 30 minutes than Sanchez did in 60″
Glad someone agrees with my thought on Sanches Can’t fault his off the ball work but his approach work is abysmal. CB
Don’t be too harsh on Walcott guys
It takes time to come back to top form from injury.
And he has hardly played
Anyway, correct me if I’m wrong but I think Walcott scored a couple of weeks ago.
We all know what he is capable of. He was our top scorer one season. Just needs more playing time.
I mean look at Ramsey today. Hopefully he will continue this play.
We have no time for that bec to much is in the line. The 4th place trophy is not yet to be sure, and we still can beat monaco. After all this is over we can be then all nice to everyplayer in the team. I for once am so happy that we have so many good players to choose from. Back then regarldes how a player performed during a week, he would have his chance again in the next one without a problem. This year only the best get gaming time, and this is just fine.
How in the world do you determine who’s best without giving players playing time as you suggest?
That’s ridiculous
In training sessions. If u are sharp in training and are performing very well, the manager will pick u. its not rocket science. Fans here call it favouritism. But i’m sure after what podolski is doing in inter, people now understand wat the manager saw.
Well I find most are up to game, only mert is waiting for trouble. Any decent player can out turn him and left him smell air.
Koscielny really “bossed” the defense today! Very good game from him!
Great win today, nothing negative to say really, except for Walcott, but he’s perfectly excused by me atleast. I understand that todays team selection was based on saving players for the match against Monaco, so playing a counter-attack-preferred Walcott against a team that is surely going to park the bus is understandable. All we got out of this match in that sense is that the monaco game should feature this first XI (or similar)
Ospina
Bellerin-Kosc-Mert-Monreal
the magic Coq
Özil-Ramsey-Cazorla-Sanchez
Giroud
We dont need pace and counterattacking traits against a team that is going to park the bus at us. We need players able to do the best out of the ball in a circle around their box.
Back to the match: Ramsey looked good, deserved his goal – but Giroud was fantastic. Olli-haters can suck it, he’s got 11 goals in (13+5) PL-matches this season. It’s on the same level ratio as “miracle man” Harry Kane, except Giroud is a far better team player.
We might still need one or more runner than Sanchez, nothing much worse than nobody making the runs even if its just a quick dash from edge of the box.
Spot on Sevenitti!! But Le Prof said Gabriel will be back by tomorrow. Not sure if he meant back in only for training. His pace would be a bonus at the back for Monaco.
Everyone really hitting form now, and would be great for Olivier to get a hat-trick on Tuesday.
COYG
Kos, Cox, Ramsey and Giroud are my motm.
Fantastic when there are four in the mix for MOTM. A lot of players seem to be hitting their stride for the run-in. Monaco, this ain’t over.
Giiiiiiiirrrrrrrroooooooud by far the best today
Sanchez show really good play when he just join us, now he look so one dimensions, maybe i am too demanding.
I have said this since he joined us. When things were going his way people over looked his flaws, his passing is absolutely terrible, he will try 10 passes and only get 3 right, his link up is poor too, and he hold onto the ball for far too long, and he always cuts inside time and time again, defenders have worked him out on his cutting in.
I absolutely think he is a very terrific player and I have not been this so excited about a signing since Hleb and Rosicky. But our Sanchez has got to adjust his game, he is becoming one dimensional with not varying his game, he needs to start going on the outside and crossing instead of always cutting into traffic and losing the ball..
But he will keep improving, he is such an exciting player who works hard.
How many overeas players shine in their first season in EPL? Agree he is struggling a bit for form just now, but he has already paid a big instalment on the £35M fee. And his commitment, pace and chasing has set a big standard that many others are now following.
He will be even better next season
COYG
Alexis to score in Monaco
I am here to down sanchez, just saying he is going down form lately, he is still one of my favourite player, I want him too shine.
*not here to
Thanks for pointing out his negatives. Giroud is not the player he was wen he joined us. My point is Sanchez will improve and that in itself is a scary thought. He is one of those players that will single handedly win us the title next season….World class.
Giroud ramsey MOTM. Chambers had an off day tonight. I think ramsey ozil pairing was great, but santi performance was brilliant. It’s difficult for wenger to choose 2 from 3 of them. We need a world class GK, i think ospina not enough. And also mert too slow for us. Great performance at all.
Chambers was dismal at times defensively.
But he is looking fantastic going forward. Just needs more work on defense.
Now let get ourselves for the come back of the Monaco match. With the confident we have now, we shall make it.
Hmmm
the boys played so well, first half was a little frustrating tho….. walcot’s bench time seems to be justified. chambers was terrible, he almost always is Never assured @ right back. really was this how he played for Southampton? Giroud is amazing, le Coq amazing, the boss terrific…. can’t Wait for the boss partnering our Very own Angel of death! boss seems to be putting 2 shifts per match!
Giroud,Ozil,Monreal,Rambo and Coquelin were outstanding today…Well,as for Koscielny,what do i say?
Find there are not people on this website, are they on the App. Me install, try a while but don’t like it and un install it.
Welbeck looked hungry for goals when he came on aswell, some nice touches,just needs to leather it every now and then…
Great game, Coquelin monreal and Kosc are unstoppable.
That tackle from Coq though
Arsenal are going to win the League!
Hope Theo gets it together for Tues. We’re going to need his speed.
I think Bellerin should start Tuesday night. Chambers plays better at CB.
I think Alexis is tired (he has played nearly every match), but we need him Tuesday.
Walcott should not start Tuesday night. He wasn’t that great today.
Ospina, Koscielny, Bellerin, Coquelin, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud should definitely start Tuesday night.
Ramsey deserves a start if Wenger wants him to play. He played really well today.
I am not sure if Wenger is considering playing both Ozil and Cazorla. That’s why I’m not sure if Wenger will play Ramsey.
Anyway, I have belief that we can qualify (I bet £50 @ 5/1 odds today)
Actually, we may need Walcott with Ox out unless Wenger decides to play Welbeck or Ozil at LB.
Let’s not forget Chambers had no help from Theo.
Both Chambers and Bellerin have had good games and bad games.
Most of the bad games are when they lack support, they still young so the consistency also won’t be there, so let’s not slate him.
I think he is one of our best crossers.
City really aren’t playing well
And they’re losing 1-0 at Burnley with 5 mins to go
COYG
Giroud is good against average sides but struggles against better teams. I hope he is at his best against Monaco.
Hafiz Rahman wants 2 new gk, 2 new rb, 2 new lb, 2 new cb, 2 new cm and 2 new striker lol.
We also need 2 new DM, 2 new RW and 2 new LW
havent seen nacho’s name mentioned, but what a solid week, today no mistakes, thats what you want from a defender,
Most underrated, underappreciated player on the team imho. Gibbs should remain stapled to the bench.
ozil the magician ! , he has awesome powers . he can actually disappear during every game , the man must be the best magician out there , yeaaaaaaaah .
nacho was awesome again,gibbs won’t start ahead of him anytime soon unless he pulls up his socks…that le coq tackle on collins in the last minute was class!!
burnley holding city in the 60’th, hmmmm
*giroud motm
2 boss
3 monreal
4 coquelin
We are gonna come 2nd. Can just feel it. Feel for City though. What are the odds on winning the league?
burnley 1-0 v City, 63″… we could end up 1 pt behind City for 2nd!
BURNLEY!!!
Come on Burnley!! 😀
Guys did we play burnley home or away?because i do fear them.i want us to get that second spot
They sat back at the Emirates until around 70 minutes when we scored. We won 3-0. They should be more open in their stadium.
Thanks @HA559
2nd place here we come!!!
come on burnley….
I really like the way the team is playing lately…it is still nervy at times but from the get go we look solid and it stays this way until game’s end!!I wouldn’t say we have turned a corner but we’re certainly going in the right direction both mentally and tactically…Really Le Prof is going vintage lately putting the right tactics and players on the field making the right subs too (after the subs he made WHU were tired and Giroud who was at heart of every dangerous attack killed the game off)…Ramsey performance was great,Özil (missed some great opportunities in final 3rd) and Coquelin missed a couple of passes but solid play from both …I think people don’t understand how Özil passes is important for the fluidity of our game….if it wasn’t for our lack of composure and decisions weather to pass or shoot in great positions the game would have been over by the 70th minute mark…now I’ll keep my hope for the CL showdown!!
86″ burnley still up 1-0!!!
2nd means you are just first in line of losers….nothing to be proud of!
I rather we come 3rd and City wins the league…hate the chavs & the Moaningho.
are you crazy? we havent finnished in top 2 since 2004, we need this, they need to smell that gold, so they awake will to win it, i belive Fa cup and 2nd place is amazing achivement, 3 months ago no one thought we would finnish top 4
Happy with first in line of losers and call yourself an Arsenal fan?
WTf Just make mine a double!
Please stop trying to be smart. Arsenal fans dont start the league hoping to be 4th 3rd or 2nd, and i dont for one second believe the team and manager do. We all want to win the league but we started badly and have been trying to salvage 4th spot because of our bad start. So if we get 2nd, why is that bad? Next season we are definitely going for the league with a better team that have used this season to gel. so there is no chance of us starting badly like we did this season. And 2nd place will instill the confidence that we can win it. If u dont support Arsenal then please join the oil clubs. That is the fastest way to make 1st. We love our Arsenal the way it is. it is moving in the right direction and very soon we will be a powerhouse. But its just unfortunate that wen that time comes, fans like u will never give the credit to AW for putting us on that path of greatness.
match over, man sh*ty loose! 2nd here we come!
Big ups Burnley…F**kn H*ll. But then again, this is the EPL…
Since we are going for the 2nd, why not go for the top. Now the champion is for Chelsea to loose.
in 11 match they need to lose 3 and to draw 2, while we need to win all our matches, if they lose tomorrow we have something to dream about, its very unlikely but no one can stop us from believing!!!
If they lose tomorrow and we beat them at the Emirates.. Who knows? But at the moment I’d put my house on Chelsea winning it.
They got like 5 new players this season and are worser…ManCity I’m talking about. Fernando, Mangala and Bony add up to around £80m pounds and then free players in Sagna and Lampard.
@nikk Are you a hip hop fan? because that drake line.for your information act as a motivation to come 1st next time
You dont need to finish 2nd to get the motivation to finish first…thats if you love the club and the fans!
Me…I am a season ticket holder and shout my heart out win or loose!
Jenas…Jermaine Jenas, when did he become such a good pundit that he is now on BBC and sometimes on BT Sports?
Kos was able to cover his position AND sometimes cover for Mert and Chambers as well. He was clearly the best player on the pitch today.
‘If I was an Arsenal player right now and If Chlesea doesn’t win tomorrow, we’re in’ – Thierry Henry when asked about what the Arsenal camp are thinking right now on Sky Sports.
I don’t think by any stretch we’re in with a shout of the title, but one important thing we can take from this season is the fact that since our shocking start to the season, where we were 18 points or so behind Chelsea by around November, we’ve not only kept pace with them, but we’ve gained ground. If they win both of their games in hand, they’ll be 12 points ahead of us, so we’ve effectively gained 6 points, not to mention how well we’ve caught Manchester City, who were equal on points with Chelsea back in December.
The fact that we can keep pace with the title winning teams is an encouraging sign, especially since it hasn’t been in little bursts of up and down periods – we’ve kept pace with them, and gained on them, for months now. We just need to keep that momentum for an entire season for once, not just for most of the season, because most of the season isn’t good enough and doesn’t win you titles.
Keep in mind the injuries we’ve had this season also though, Walcott, Özil, Koscielny, Giroud and Debuchy have ell been out for lengthy periods. Plus the lack of squad depth we had, playing Monreal at centre back? Sanogo as our main striker? Flamini as DM? There are huge improvements we can make to the squad still. For me, that’s encouraging, especially as they aren’t problems that need extortionate amounts of money to fix. Defensive midfielders and centre backs aren’t nearly as expensive as attacking players.
Until it’s mathematically impossible, we are in with a shout of the title. The odds are against, but we are in form and Chelsea are struggling at times…so are City…
You just never know! 😀
Today felt like the first time in a while I was watching the Arsenal I’ve come to love. All three goals were well worked and classy to back up an all around good performance where we bossed the game.
Giroud showed how a striker for Arsenal should play today – with his back to goal bringing in players around him and opening space for the wide runners to get in behind the defence, while also offering a deadly movement into the box himself if the defender gives him an inch. Absolutely brilliant.
On the other side, Koscielny defended beautifully and mopped up every last issue at the back. Mertesacker was poor today and relied heavily on his counterpart. People will have a go at Chambers but often Mertesacker should have been backing him up and failed to perform his role. In contrast, the aging and slow Collins stopped more then one of our more promising attacks and never gave up. Credit where credit is due last season the guy was slow and unable to track back at all if someone turned him but today he stopped Theo getting a clean shot away and battled hard to stop Arsenal cutting through. Wish Merts would take a page out of his book and stop resting on the laurels of his past achievements!
Chambers was a mixed bag today – great going forward but poor at the back. His positioning was mucked up by a mix of his CB partner and RW partner. It made it hard for the boy who Wenger probably utilises as a CB in training. Only 1 of the breaks down his side was a REALLY bad mistake by CC and the rest were more misjudgements of the players around him. His crossing and passing were good though and offered us a much needed second layer of attack.
Coq was once again a beast. Nuff said.
Theo had good movement, Alexis was trouble, Ozil was creating lots.
Most important for us as a team though Ramsey seems to be back. He was moving and playing like himself today. It seemed like the restraints were off – he had no pressure on himself and he just got on with things and made the right decisions consistently. Was great to see and is really gonna help going into the final stages of the season.