Danny Welbeck's second half goal led Arsenal to a scrappy 1-0 win at the Hawthorns.
Pre-Match
Arsenal went into the game on the back of back-to-back league losses, which lead to their worst ever start to the Premier League. Bizarrely, before kick-off, Arsenal were only 2 points away from the 4th place, and the Champions League spot that comes with it.
Arsenal’s win on Wednesday night guaranteed their progression from the group stages of the Champions League for 15 consecutive year.
The hosts came into the game with only home win this season. The only West Brom player who had scored more than goal in the Premier League got arrested for drink-driving during midweek.
Arsenal made 5 changes from the team that lost to United last week. Injuries to Szczesny, Arteta and Wilshere mean Martinez, Cazorla and Flamini have been brought into the team. Long awaited returns for Koscielny and Giroud sees the French duo get their first starts since October and August respectively, leaving Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gibbs on the bench.
First Half
Good link up play between Chambers, Sanchez Welbeck and Cazorla in the 2nd minute ended in the Spaniard having a shot from range, which was directed straight at the keeper. 3 minutes later and Alexis grabbed the ball of the halfway line and powered forwards, beating a couple of men in a move which culminated in a tame shot, smothered by Foster.
This was followed by a brief spell of West Brom possession, in which they managed nothing more than a corner and a few crosses directed at nobody particular.
A long kick from Martinez was brought down by Giroud, who laid it off to Sanchez on the right, before Ramsey fed the ball through to Cazorla (via Welbeck), whose long shot was blocked by the West Brom’s only ever-present player, Craig Dawson. A cross-field ball from Alexis was then played perfectly to Welbeck, who was outmuscled by the defender after his first touch was somewhat wayward.
The 22 minute mark saw an injured Nacho Monreal come off for Kieran Gibbs.
In the 25th minute, Giroud’s appeal for penalty was waved away by the ref, before Arsenal were awarded a free kick from 30 yards out. Alexis’ effort clipped the top of the wall before rebounding back into play. Continued Arsenal pressure saw Welbeck do very well to get behind the defensive line, but his effort was well saved by the West Brom ‘keeper.
Foster then ran out to the right hand side of his box to receive a poor backpass and Giroud pounced, much like he did against Southampton last season. Giroud took on the shot from a near impossible angle, and the ball fizzed across the open goal, finding nobody. Minutes later, intricate one-two play between Cazorla and Giroud saw Cazorla take yet another shot from distance, which was caught by Foster.
10 minutes before half time, intense pressing from Alexis forced West Brom to give the ball away in their box. The ball fell to Ramsey, and after a few touches, the Welshman worked himself into a shooting position, where he shanked it to the left of the goal. Less than a minute later, Cazorla picked out another Ramsey run from deep, but the pass was over hit.
West Brom’s first formidable spell of possession for 20 minutes saw Chris Brunt put Berahino through for a golden opportunity… but the Northern Ireland international was offside. The home side sustained their pressure until half time, putting in 3 more crosses that were dealt with by Koscielny, Martinez and Ramsey respectively.
Second Half
Hearts were in all Arsenal fans’ mouths after 1 minute of the second half, as Berahino was found himself in acres of space as he ran past Mertesacker on the counterattack, fortunately for the Gunners, Berahino was given offside, when footage shows that he wasn’t. Minutes later, a poor cross from Cazorla was blocked by Wisdom and set up Sessegnon, who ran down the right hand side, in a move that led to nothing more than an innocuous throw in.
A dangerous break from Arsenal saw Welbeck break through on the left hand side, who decided to lay the ball off to Ramsey rather than take the shot on himself. The Welshman failed to make any impact. Moments later, a spilled catch from Foster left the ball at Mertesacker’s feet, but the World Cup winner was unable to capitalise.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were more open than any of the first. West Brom’s 1st shot saw Berahino hit the side netting after fooling Martinez into diving the wrong way. Arsenal were on the counterattack, when a great ball by Kieran Gibbs fell just shy of Sanchez after going over the head of Cazorla. A West Brom corner was cleared by Mertesacker before the ball was crossed back in, as Lescott missed from a header.
After 60 minutes, some lovely play from Santi Cazorla saw him break down the left hand side, beating Liverpool loanee Andre Wisdom, before putting in a brilliant ball for Danny Welbeck. The English striker headed the ball powerfully at the keeper, who palmed it into the roof of the net. 1-0 Arsenal.
Straight after the goal, West Brom applied pressure, resulting in a free kick that was taken short but ultimately came to nothing.
Arsenal responded by maintaining possession, and created a few chances. The first of which was a speculative shot from Ramsey that dribbled wide. Cazorla then crossed the ball across the face of the goal, but was unable to find an Arsenal shirt. Arsenal’s second penalty appeal came after Welbeck was blocked off on the edge of the box. Maybe not a penalty, but it should have been a foul. The subsequent corer was then flapped away by Foster, before West Brom cleared the ball out of danger.
At 75 minutes, Arsenal had two successive corners, in which they did what Arsenal do at corners- nothing. This lead to their first shot on target, a deflected effort that was comfortably caught by Martinez. After 77 minutes, Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Giroud, as Samaras replace Sessegnon for West Brom.
West Brom piled on all the pressure that would be expected from a team that are 1-0 down at home, with 3 strikers on the pitch. A series of crosses then followed, with Berahino hitting the bar with the best of these efforts.
Alexis was then put through to run at the defence alone, and was unlucky not to be granted a foul after a challenge for Samaras. A cagey next 10 minutes was interrupted by an injury to Oxlade-Chamberlain, that didn’t prove enough to bring off the English midfielder.
A deflected shot from Craig Gardener saw West Brom given a corner at the end of the regulation time. Gardener was the one who subsequently missed a free header from the corner. After the 1st of 4 minutes of added time, Martinez did well to catch a cross from Samaras.
Craig Gardener was then given an opportunity to cross, which was blocked as the ball went out for a corner. Ben Foster came up for the corner, which fell to Ramsey, who had a shot/clearance from deep inside his own half, which did not reach the goal line.
Oxlade-Chamberlain brilliantly tracked the ball, and gave away the most professional of professional fouls, getting himself booked in the process. Moments later, Alexis did brilliantly to pick out Ramsey at the edge of the box, but the Welshman failed to double the Gunners’ lead.
West Brom managed to push forwards one last time, but a 94th minute throw in proved to be the last play of the game, which came to nothing. Phew.
Post-Match Thoughts
Maybe not the greatest game of all time, but picking up three points and a clean sheet on the road can only be a good thing for Arsenal.
Despite the various injuries in the squad, the team dug deep to hold on to the lead that Welbeck gave the team. It was fantastic to see man of the match Santi Cazorla with a performance that was reminiscent of him at his best.
After the game, Wenger lamented Arsenal’s inability to take some of the chances, citing both the finishing and the final ball. He also talked about how the team were impressive “in glimpses”, before laughing off a question about Arsenal fans who were calling for him to be sacked.
Being back in the top 4, however short term it may be, boosts the confidence of the team, at a time when fixtures are coming in thick and fast. Hopefully the team will be able to continue the momentum for the midweek game against Southampton.
