Mertesacker Delivers With Return Of Koscielny

Match Review: West Ham 1 Arsenal 2 - Premier League 28.12.14

Arsenal’s win against West Ham was huge for a number of reasons. In terms of momentum, winning over a supposed ‘rival’ for fourth place and in terms of proving that this team can get it done in tough away games. Before the game, I’d probably have taken a draw, considering West Ham had rested players in preparation for this game and that we had been involved in an energy sapping struggle with QPR. But the players really stepped up and there are signs that this team could well be starting to find its best form.

Laurent Koscielny made his long awaited return to the starting line up, along with Chamberlain, who lined up on the right. There was also a surprise start for Francis Coquelin, who slotted in alongside Flamini in midfield. Meanwhile, Alex Song lined up for West Ham as he looked to have an impact against the club he left for his ill fated spell in Barcelona and within a few minutes, he nearly had.

West Ham made a bright start and after a corner fell perfectly for him, Alex Song thought he’d given his side the lead, volleying brilliantly in to the bottom corner. However, the goal was ruled out as the ball went through the legs of the offside Sakho. The player was clearly in the eye-line of Szczesny and despite the protests of the West Ham players and Sam Allardyce after the game, it was the correct decision.

I’d say West Ham probably edged the first half, after the disallowed goal, they continued to test out our defence, but on the whole we repelled them without any huge scares. With Koscielny at the back and partnering Mertesacker, we look so much more solid in defence. We grew into the game towards the end of the half and just past the 40 minute mark, the momentum shifted towards us.

Santi Cazorla has been in excellent form after struggling at the beginning of the season and it was his driving run that ended up in Winston Reid giving away a messy penalty. The defender had a chance to clear, but booted it straight at Cazorla. The attempted clearance threw him off balance and as he fell over he obviously panicked and raised a leg to trip the Spaniard. Cazorla stepped up and showed Alexis why he’s the penalty taker, sending Adrian the wrong way and planting the ball into bottom corner.

West Ham seemed shocked and lost their focus after the penalty and having started so brightly and confidently, they suddenly found themselves facing a two goal deficit. The goal came thanks to some excellent work from Debuchy and then Chamberlain, who sped past a couple of defenders, before cutting the ball back perfectly to find Danny Welbeck ready to poke into an empty net. I’m delighted for Danny, he’s such an excellent all round player and hasn’t been able to score as many goals as his play has warranted. He makes intelligent runs, he has great strength and he’s a real team player and though he hasn’t scored hatful's of goals, I think he has an extremely bright future ahead of him at Arsenal.

Arsenal don’t do comfortable wins though. Other teams might be able to shut things down, neutralise the game and coast home, but we’re not that sort of a team. Early in the second half we failed to clear our lines from a corner and when Tomkins floated the ball back in, Kouyate towered over Debuchy and although he headed into the back of our player’s head, it just about looped in. Szczesny was a bit flat footed for me and certainly could have got closer to the attempt, particularly as he was so assertive and strong in the rest of the game.

Rather than capitulate though, it seemed like their goal galvanised us and pushed us to take the initiative. For the majority of the second half, we were on the front foot and we played some excellent football. We counter attacked with pace and purpose and created a ton of chances to kill the game off. Welbeck forced Adrian into an excellent save and blazed another good chance over the bar, Alexis and Chamberlain both tested the West Ham keeper into close range saves, likewise Cazorla.

The home team owed a huge amount to their keeper, as we could have been out of sight. As it was, we had to endure a nervy last period as West Ham pumped the ball towards Andy Carroll and had a number of shots from in and around the area. But unlike against Liverpool, this time we held firm and secured a deserved win against a team in very good form. West Ham were very confident of getting a result against us and targeted this game over the Chelsea game, so to get the three points is huge for us.

So another roller coaster year ends. As ever, there’s been plenty of ups and downs, but the FA Cup victory was the obvious highlight. Hopefully we will put down a positive marker for 2015 against a very difficult Southampton side on New Year’s Day and give ourselves the platform to be competitive towards the end of the season.

Teams

West Ham (4-3-3)
Adrian, O’Brien (Demel 78’), Reid (Y), Tomkins (Y), Cresswell, Song, Kouyate (Nolan 78’), Amalfitano, Downing, Sakho (Valencia 62’), Carroll (Y)
Subs
Nolan, Noble, Collins, Demel, Jaaskelainen, Cole, Valencia

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Szczesny, Debuchy (Y), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Coquelin (Y), Chamberlain (Chambers 90’), Cazorla, Alexis (Y), Welbeck (Gibbs 85’)
Subs
Walcott, Chambers, Podolski, Ospina, Campbell, Akpom, Gibbs

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 7/10 - Assertive dealing with West Ham’s crosses, but maybe suspect for their goal
Debuchy - 6/10 - Struggled slightly and was completely outmuscled for their goal
Mertesacker - 7/10 - A strong performance and probably delighted to have Kos back
Koscielny - 7/10 - A magnificent player who’s been sorely missed
Monreal - 7/10 - Another very solid performance, this time at left back
Flamini - 7/10 - Also very assured and effective in the middle of the park
Coquelin - 8/10 - His first start for us since 2013 and he was surprisingly excellent
Alexis - 7/10 - I’m amazed his legs haven’t fallen off, he just never stops
Cazorla - 8/10 - Seems a completely different player from a few months ago
Chamberlain - 7/10 - A good showing and he continues to improve and impress
Welbeck - 7/10 - Scored the winner and his all round game was excellent again
Subs
Gibbs - N/A

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