3-2, Premier League, The Hawthorns, 2012-05-13
Benayoun 4,
Santos 28,
Koscielny 54
We finally got the job done. After ninety minutes of withstanding agonzing nerves, we finally got the job done. Considering our start of the season a third place feels like a victory, especially snatching it from our neighbours! We have ensured another year of Champions League football (the fifteenth year in a row of top European football for us) and let's just hope that it's enough to ensure that the services of our captain will remain for more seasons to come.
The game started well for us, we played with confidence and scored early. The W.B.A 'keeper made a fatal error that Yossi Benayoun capitalised on. He snatched it from the hands of the 'keeper and scored with ease. After that you'd have thought that we could more or less ease through the game, yet that was not the case. Within the space of four minutes we found ourselves trailing, 1-2! The first goal should never have been allowed as the player was offside by at least a yard! Nervetheless, it was vital that we found ourselves back in the game before the end of the first half, and our very own Brazilian defender saw to that. During his first season at Arsenal, Andre Santos have proved to be a real attacking force, and the last game of the season proved to be no different. The left back made his way into the W.B.A half and fired away a sizzling shot!
In the second half we continued to push on and, ironically, our salvation came through a situation that has often been our ruin: a corner. A lack of communication between 'keeper and defender meant that Laurent Koscielny found himself in a position where he just had to tuck the ball into the back of an open net! The remaining minutes we held on, and only just about! Gibbs slided in with an excellent tackle in the final minute to deny W.B.A a golden opportunity to score, and in doing so he probably won the game for us.
So that's an end to yet another (trophy-less) season. However, we can feel nothing but joy at the moment, considering how barely we just saved that spot in the Champions League. It does feel that next season will bring something more with it. Granted, we need to keep Robin van Persie as well as make a few more signings, but it does feel like the team is growing up, fast.
Injury Update;
-Walcott came on for the second half, returning from injury.
-Sagna underwent surgery earlier in the week on his fractured leg, meaning that he (most likely) won't be back in time for the next season.
-Arteta and Mertesacker are both still out, but hopefully they'll be back for next season.
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