2-0, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 2012-12-08
Arteta 26, 64
We dominated this game from start to finish, there was no questioning who deserved to win. However, it is always unfortunate when you score dubious penalties, fortunately that was not the only goal scored today! What matters most is that we are back on track after a rough couple of weeks.
As mentioned above, we dominated this game and the first half was no exception. But there is definitely still room for improvement as we created few clear-cut chances and were offside way too many times. Our first good chance came after five minutes when Gervinho got close after some chaos in the box, unfortunately he did not get a clean hit on the ball so the shot did not find its way into the back of the net.
About ten minutes into the game Cazorla had a decent shot from a distance, but it went wide. Oxlade-Chamberlain looked fresh throughout the game today and provided lots of good crosses, his first real good cross was met by Cazorla, who could not manage to keep it on-target.
West Bromwich did not have many chances whatsoever, but Brunt came quite close with a shot midway through the half that went wide. The following minutes proved very eventful for us and they started with a great run from Gervinho, unfortunately it was rendered useless as he did not find a fellow team-mate with his cross.
Then came the dubious penalty, Cazorla fell in the box and it looked rather cheap. At least this meant that Mikel Arteta could get retribution from the Fulham game as he scored from the penalty spot with a risky strike in the centre of the goal.
It has been priceless to have Wilshere back in the squad and he got extremely close when Gervinho provided a brilliant cross, however the young Englishman did not get enough onto the ball to score. Then Gervinho had a go himself with a decent shot, but it was saved by the 'keeper. In the last minute of the half Oxlade-Chamberlain tried out an acrobatic over-head kick, without any success.
The second half looked pretty much the same as the first, with us in clear domination when it came to both possession and chances created. Fifteen minutes into the half Gervinho had yet another strike that got close, but he just could not seem to score in this game.
The game was more or less punctuated when we got our second penalty of the game. Oxlade-Chamberlain was awarded with a penalty when he was brought down harshly in the box, this time it was certainly not a dubious penalty. Mikel Arteta scored yet again from the penalty spot and yet again he chose to put it in the centre of the goal!
With about ten minutes to go the Spaniard got close with a free-kick, but it went just wide of the goal. Podolski rounded the game off with a shot from close-range that was somehow put over the bar from a brilliant pass by Wilshere.
It was definitely an extreme relief to win this game, given the latest results and the way we have played. The one aspect of our game that I was the most satisfied with today was our midfield trio. It was a pure joy to watch Arteta, Cazorla and Wilshere link-up in the midfield and control our game with flair.
Injury Update:
- Walcott is injured once again, needless to say it is disappointing.
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