It seems like a story we’ve read over and over again in the papers, but this weekend West Brom played hosts to an Arsenal side who needed nothing less than 3 points to assure the fans things were still alright at the club.
But that fans had something to smile about on their way to the Hawthorns, with the return of Koscielny and Giroud to our starting line up, and after the Gunners romped to a 2-0 victory over German giants Borussia Dortmund in mid week.
Failure to carry on that form surely would have exaggerated the already blushing cheeks of Wenger, as his side met on a chilly Saturday lunchtime in the Midlands.
On paper it looked like a piece of cake, with West Brom failing to have scored a goal in nearly 270 minutes, but as we always manage to do we made it look harder than it could’ve been.
Full player ratings and verdicts follow:
Starting 11: Martinez, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal (Gibbs 23′), Flamini, Ramsey, Sanchez, Cazorla, Welbeck (Chamberlain 78′), Giroud
Unused Subs: T. Rosicky, L. Podolski, J. Campbell, H. Bellerin, M. Macey
Emiliano Martinez – 7
A hard one to rate seeing as Martinez had very little to do throughout the 90 minutes. His first Premier League start will be one to remember though, picking up a clean sheet after West Brom failed to even make a single attempt at goal in the first half.
A few dangerous spells from Baggies striker, Saido Berahino enabled Martinez to look lively in the air come the second half, but a generally comfortable performance for the youngster as he picks up a second clean sheet in as many games.
Callum Chambers – 8
A defender or an attacker, it really is difficult to sum up everything that the Englishman adds to our side. There was a worry at one stage Chambers was struggling with discipline, but he’s sorted his game out following his England call ups.
Chambers looks a lot like our Bacary Sagna of last year, confident to get forward but isn’t a liability when he has to do the hard graft. He made Berahino look like a player out of form, and his crossing was a lot better today. A bright future for a lad who is sure to stay at this club a while.
Per Mertesacker – 6
2
Per struggled again today but played like a different player now he has his counterpart Koscielny back. Although we didn’t have much to do at the back for most of the game, West Brom looked dangerous as we held onto the 3 points. Per was struggling to keep in position when it comes to crosses, always being too far away from whoever is between the sticks.
We will see him back to his best soon, and today was an improvement, but he just needs to focus on his positioning and have some more confidence in the abilities of Chambers.
Laurent Koscielny – 5
It was always expected, but Koscielny just looked slightly off the pace when it came to in and around the area. Don’t look at the rating as a negative, look at it as something he can build on. It will take time but eventually this Arsenal back four will be back to their best before the New Year.
Koscielny mainly struggled with tika-taka play on the edge of the area, and played Berahino onside in a decision the linesman definitely got wrong. Great to see the man back into the squad though!
Nacho Monreal – 5 (Replaced by Kieran Gibbs, 23′)
Hard to give this guy a rating, but then again isn’t it always? Nacho pulled up after about ten minutes with what looks like a calf strain. Didn’t have a lot going down the left hand side whilst he was on the pitch, but that all changed when Sanchez moved over from the right-wing.
Gibbs came on and still looks like the player we know and love. Everything, including the goal was coming down the left hand side, and if anything it just reiterated how much of a difference there is between him and Nacho. Pace and energy were key to his game today, and with Monreal out for a couple of weeks most likely, Gibbs will want to carry on this form.
Matthieu Flamini – 6
Much of the same really and not a lot to do for the Frenchman. He managed to sit very deep today due to everything coming down the flanks or on the counter attack, allowing Ramsey to move on up a little bit.
Didn’t do anything wrong, but did his job well!
Aaron Ramsey – 6
Again, Ramsey just looks annoyed playing where he is at the moment, always trying to push on too much. In front of goal he missed all of his chances and he doesn’t look like the player who has confidence to take risks, after he backed out of a well chipped ball which could have been headed in if he had the courage to beat goalkeeper, Ben Foster.
There may be a problem with Oxlade-Chamberlain after the game today, which could allow Ramsey to push on into the centre attacking midfield area where he can really flourish.
Alexis Sanchez – 7
He did everything right and he did it with the passion we have seen in every other game. Always first to try to win the ball back if he loses it, and never afraid to take a player on. You could see he wanted a goal today, and was unlucky when Mulumbu headed away a clear-cut opportunity.
Not the stand out player we’ve seen before, but Sanchez can’t be world-class in every game as much as we’d love it!
Santi Cazorla – 8 (Man of the Match)
A different player completely today. We saw in the week that Santi was back to his near best, well today he got even closer to it. Setting up the goal with a sensational assist, and always looking troublesome around the edge of the area.
Santi flourished playing in the centre role today rather than playing out on the wing, and that was due to the work of Giroud who could take it down easily to lay off to Cazorla who would always be waiting. He was the man with the most attempts at goal today for us, which says a lot seeing as he’s failed to score all season. Today will do heaps for his confidence, after he was only dropped a week ago when we came up against United.
Danny Welbeck – 7
Tucking away a bullet header was top of Welbeck’s wish list today, and the 24-year-old managed to pick up the winning goal. Other than that, Welbeck’s touches in the first half covered all areas of the pitch, which shows he is always working hard to win the ball back.
We saw his versatility today, after he started out on the left-wing, switched to the right-wing and then ended up playing as the second man in a partnership up top with Giroud. The goal was exactly what he needed, and is now his 3rd in 10 Premier League games.
Olivier Giroud – 7
Great to see this man back in our starting line up, and he showed us exactly what we’ve been missing. Giroud’s presence was so influential, being able to slow the game down slightly and getting players to play off him.
He has the ability to bring the ball down and have a look around, something that Welbeck struggled to always do because of his energy. A nice game for Giroud to start in, and he will soon be back amongst the goals no doubt.