Fantastic result for Arsenal which takes them above West Ham in the league. 2 v 1 seems to be the score of the moment for the two North London clubs. The two sides go toe to toe at the moment with Arsenal coming out on top in time for the Southampton game on New Year's Day. A game that could put them into the top four.

The formation 4-2-3-1 worked well for them last year and, with Coquelin coming in to support Flamini in front of the back four and playing very well, may do so again for the rest of the season. With the offensive line of Cazorla and Alexis and Oxlade Chamberlain giving West Ham all sorts of trouble today it was an excellent display and result against an extremely dangerous side away from home.

The main reason the Arsenal defense felt more solid throughout was due to the return of Koscielny who gives the team an added level of stability. He played well most of the game in his first match back in the fold. Despite all that they still let West Ham back in to the game in the second half and they had a penalty shout and a free kick in injury time just like the QPR game. It felt like deja vu.

With Chelsea and Manchester City and Manchester United and Spurs all dropping points today Arsenal had a fantastic day overall but all the arguments of my prior article about them making life difficult for themselves still apply. At least they had all eleven players on the park this time though.

So 2 v 1 to the Arsenal could become the new "Song" who played very well as captain of West ham today, incidentally, if Spurs don't claim it first!

If Koscielny is now back long term it will provide more solidity at the back and Coquelin's new role could help to solidify the defensive side of their game. He particularly managed to nullify Stuart downing's influence in the West Ham team and that is very positive for him and Arsenal for the future.

The influence of Alexis, though, must not be understated. His work rate and ability is phenomenal and as long as he is playing well Arsenal have a chance to win every game. With the likes of Walcott and Ozil to return, and Podolski waiting to come on when required, Arsenal do have a good chance, this season, to win the fourth place trophy again.