Arsenal rounded off what looks to have been a successful week in all respects, after victory against West Ham took the Gunners one step closer to cementing that top four place.
The comfortable 3-0 win over the Hammers leaves Wenger’s men firmly at third place, and four points ahead of Manchester United, who face Spurs tomorrow afternoon.
Man of the match, Olivier Giroud, grabbed a goal and assist to hand this Arsenal side some much-needed momentum as they head to Monaco on Wednesday night.
David Ospina – 8
Wasn’t exactly a slow afternoon for the Colombian, who was forced into making a series of great saves to deny West Ham in the first half. Did well to get low against Kevin Nolan which was West Ham’s biggest threat of the game.
Callum Chambers – 6.5
A mixed performance for Chambers, and if you put the Liverpool attack in front of him then he will struggle. Good at getting forward but a constant liability with players running in behind him.
Per Mertesacker – 6
Not a lot of action for the German to deal with, with the Hammers only playing one up top throughout the whole game. Character was good though and he’ll need that going into Wednesday night.
Laurent Koscielny – 8
Brilliant performance from the Frenchman who found himself getting forward a lot more than usual today. He was attacking balls coming through the defence rather than sitting off, but confidence is high for centre back.
Nacho Monreal – 7
Showing he has the ability to keep Kieran Gibbs out of the picture, Monreal suffered a few slip ups but that could be down to Alexis’ unpredictability when going down the line. Main threat from Arsenal came from the right hand side so not a lot of attacking action.
Francis Coquelin – 7.5
Running out of superlatives for this man. Dedicated and thorough across the pitch, making tackles when he needed to and not just for the sake of it. His maturity has shone over the last few games.
Aaron Ramsey – 7.5
Nobody on that pitch needed a performance more than this man today. Got a goal and was key to much of the build up. Lasted 90 minutes in first start back from injury, but may be rested on Wednesday.
Alexis – 7 (Subbed at 65′)
Average from Alexis which is something we’re not used to saying. Had a good shot early on where Adrian denied Arsenal a second goal. Defenders are adapting to his play, but Wenger rested him ready for Monaco.
Mesut Ozil – 7 (Subbed at 83′)
A chance to play in the position he loves and he did well. Could have made it 2-0 with a blatant chance on goal but his unselfish nature chose to pick out Walcott instead. Nice performance but I’m afraid to say Santi stole his thunder towards the end of the game.
Theo Walcott – 6 (Subbed at 72′)
Not the Theo we know and love when it came to finishing off the job. Wasted a great opportunity in opening minutes and failed to react to a rebound effort from Mesut Ozil later on.
Obviously lacking some match confidence but we need to see more from him in the penalty area if he wants to earn a place in that FA Cup semi-final side.
Olivier Giroud – 9 (Man of the Match)
A goal and assist for the striker as he continues his impressive form this season. He’s had his doubters, but the Frenchman now averages a goal every 1.71 matches which is putting him back amongst the top players in the Premier League.
After a little rest on Monday night, Giroud came out fighting and his link up play with Walcott was especially nice to see. A big challenge for him now to take this form to Monaco and get the headlines he deserves.
Substitutes
65′ Danny Welbeck – Played out on the left and looked eager. Showed his versatility after playing up top on Monday night, but confidence is high for the Englishman.
72′ Santi Cazorla – Picked up an assist in the short time he was on. Fantastic showing in such a short time, and really changed the momentum to allow Arsenal to kill this game off. Started on the bench ready for Wednesday.
83′ Matthieu Flamini – His first goal for a year and I bet you didn’t have him in your bets. Standard job for Flamini, but great to see him back in the side after celebrating his birthday recently.