Yes, last night really happened. No we didn't win the league as some reactions might have you believe, but boy did we need that. Not everything about the match was completely convincing, but MAYBE last night was the one that instilled some belief back into the squad?
It's safe to say excitement was less than palpable throughout the weekend and the day leading up to the match. But that soon changed when the line ups were announced. It was the team everyone was screaming out for: Martinelli's first start, Xhaka-Torreira double pivot, Chambers at centre half, and Auba leading the line centrally. What could go wrong eh?
Well as per Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Both our full backs were injured. Simple passes went askew, breaks of the ball went to West Ham more often than not, we couldn't get out of our own half, and when we did the efforts on goal were lashed high and wide. But what poor half of football wouldn't be complete without conceding a goal and going behind?
A West Ham corner was well headed away by Sokratis. But the ball was recycled into the box and we failed to clear our lines properly. Fornals found himself wide enough to clip the ball back into the box and it was met by Ogbonna, AMN turned his back as the header came in and it deflected off his back and consequently beyond Leno.
The second half didn't start much better, but thankfully Martinelli was on hand to get us back on parity with game changing moment number 1. Torreira picked up the ball in the middle third but found the run of Kolasinac with a slide rule pass between centre half and full back. Kolasinac's pull back was perfectly weighted for Martinelli to run onto it and slot into the bottom corner. It was a finish that looked a lot easier than it probably was, central to the goal about 8-10 yards out it would have been easy to blase over, but he kept his cool and calmly slotted the ball beyond Martin.
Game changing moment number 2 allowed Arsenal to get their noses in front. Before Martinelli's equaliser, Cresswell clattered Pepe and in the process injured himself and West ham were forced into a substitution. Masuaku struggled throughout against Pepe on our right wing. 6 minutes after the equaliser, Pepe sent Arsenal fans in the ground and on Twitter into raptures, scoring a robben-esque goal that we paid £72m for. The ball was moved from the left side to the right. Pepe picked up the ball on the corner of west ham's box, shifted quickly onto his left and unleashed an effort into the top left corner. All of a sudden, there was this huge wave of relief around the club and the players like a weight was finally lifted from their shoulders, it felt like and it was a big big moment.
Arsenal soon sealed the game 3 minutes later, and Pepe was yet again involved. Ozil quickly played the ball into Auba, his backheel found Pepe in a similar position to his goal. Instead in a much tighter area, he opted to lift the ball over the west ham back 4, and via a deflection it found Auba who was able to volley home past Martin who got a hand to it. In the space of 10 minutes, Arsenal went from a goal down, to 3-1 up!
From there on Arsenal saw the game out expertly. It is true that West ham were tiring, but Arsenal didn't give them a sniff. The passing was quick and with intent, it was efficient and suddenly every pass was with good reason, not just to protect stats. It killed the game stone dead, 'ole' chants were back in the first time in forever, and at the same time we chose our moments to go forward sensibly and could have put ourselves further ahead, Auba in particular went close. But the full time whistle went and their were smiles all around, is this the moment our season turns around??
Ratings:
Ljunberg - 8
Freddie picked the team that everyone was crying out for. It was a bold choice to leave out Luiz who is such a big character and had been an almost ever present to date. Likewise to leave out Lacazette to get Aubameyang central. He was unfortunate to lose both his first choice full backs before and during the game, but he refused the urge to put chambers back at right back, instead opting for AMN and Kolasinac who wasn't even supposed to be on the bench. In the end, it paid off and we looked like a proper footballing side once our confidence was back.
Leno - 7
Could do little about the goal with the deflection taking the ball away from the direction he was weighted. Made a couple of important saves and looked solid in the air taking crosses, something he's previously been criticised for.
AMN - 5
His energy and drive makes him a more natural right back than Chambers, able to get up and down the field. Criminal to turn his back and not get in the way properly for West ham's opener, did link with Pepe well at times.
Chambers - 8
Superb display. No nonsense defending and put his head on the line in the second half when it really mattered, it wasn't a header you'd expect Mustafi, Luiz, or Sokratis to make. His calmness at the heart of that defence was really needed.
Sokratis - 7
Got back to doing what made him a good centre half, just defending. Before the west ham opener he did very well to win the initial header and was typical of his game. He defended well, but let Chambers do the passing out from the back when it was needed.
Tierney - N/A
Xhaka - 5.5
Since his re-integration to the squad he had found his game and was on form. But today it was not happening in the first half, gave the ball away several times and was struggling in a team with zero confidence. That was compounded when he ducked under the header from Ogbonna that scored West ham's opening goal. In the second half though when the confidence returned, he suddenly found his passing range and kept things ticking along well.
Torreira - 6
He and Xhaka as a double pivot just works. Started the moves that lead to our equaliser and screened our back 4 well providing them with the protection they needed. Like most players, he started poorly but found his game when the confidence was back.
Martinelli - 8 (MOTM)
Worked his arse off in the first half for the team and winning the ball back. His first premier league goal was an important equaliser, so instead of wildly celebrating his first ever goal in the premier league at 18 years old like one might expect, he grabbed the ball and ran back to the second half to get his team going again to try and find the win. Absurd how good he is and can be.
Ozil - 5
Frankly awful in the first half. So unlike him to give the ball away but he found himself struggling to keep hold of it every time. Went missing in the end and hid away from the team. In the second half though once we found some confidence, he was the one to make things happen and looked more like the player we bought him to be all those years ago. Needs to be better and be the guy that gets us back into games when the chips are down.
Pepe - 7
Really struggled in the first half against Cresswell, who was doing a very good job of not letting Pepe get beyond him at any cost. Masuaku afforded him more space and it was telling, scored a superb goal and looked an awful lot more dangerous. The smiles are back and looks to have finally found his range!
Aubameyang - 6.5
Really really disappointing in the first half. Looked disinterested, was lazy in the opening goal trying to win the ball and helped West ham score their opening goal. An effort he had as well was blazed over in frustration. But like everyone else, suddenly he found his game when the confidence came back. He was involved in everything going forward and looked a happier man. Took his goal superbly and almost had a second at the death.
Kolasinac - 7
I am often critical of Kolasinac but tonight he deserves real credit. Wasn't even meant to be on the bench, but found himself playing more than an hour in the end. Ordinarily, he was having a good game but today even more so taking that into consideration. He defended well and got forward with the right cut back when it mattered in the second half.
Guendouzi - N/A
Nelson - N/A
@groningergooner
It's safe to say excitement was less than palpable throughout the weekend and the day leading up to the match. But that soon changed when the line ups were announced. It was the team everyone was screaming out for: Martinelli's first start, Xhaka-Torreira double pivot, Chambers at centre half, and Auba leading the line centrally. What could go wrong eh?
Well as per Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Both our full backs were injured. Simple passes went askew, breaks of the ball went to West Ham more often than not, we couldn't get out of our own half, and when we did the efforts on goal were lashed high and wide. But what poor half of football wouldn't be complete without conceding a goal and going behind?
A West Ham corner was well headed away by Sokratis. But the ball was recycled into the box and we failed to clear our lines properly. Fornals found himself wide enough to clip the ball back into the box and it was met by Ogbonna, AMN turned his back as the header came in and it deflected off his back and consequently beyond Leno.
Game changing moment number 2 allowed Arsenal to get their noses in front. Before Martinelli's equaliser, Cresswell clattered Pepe and in the process injured himself and West ham were forced into a substitution. Masuaku struggled throughout against Pepe on our right wing. 6 minutes after the equaliser, Pepe sent Arsenal fans in the ground and on Twitter into raptures, scoring a robben-esque goal that we paid £72m for. The ball was moved from the left side to the right. Pepe picked up the ball on the corner of west ham's box, shifted quickly onto his left and unleashed an effort into the top left corner. All of a sudden, there was this huge wave of relief around the club and the players like a weight was finally lifted from their shoulders, it felt like and it was a big big moment.
Arsenal soon sealed the game 3 minutes later, and Pepe was yet again involved. Ozil quickly played the ball into Auba, his backheel found Pepe in a similar position to his goal. Instead in a much tighter area, he opted to lift the ball over the west ham back 4, and via a deflection it found Auba who was able to volley home past Martin who got a hand to it. In the space of 10 minutes, Arsenal went from a goal down, to 3-1 up!
From there on Arsenal saw the game out expertly. It is true that West ham were tiring, but Arsenal didn't give them a sniff. The passing was quick and with intent, it was efficient and suddenly every pass was with good reason, not just to protect stats. It killed the game stone dead, 'ole' chants were back in the first time in forever, and at the same time we chose our moments to go forward sensibly and could have put ourselves further ahead, Auba in particular went close. But the full time whistle went and their were smiles all around, is this the moment our season turns around??
Ratings:
Ljunberg - 8
Freddie picked the team that everyone was crying out for. It was a bold choice to leave out Luiz who is such a big character and had been an almost ever present to date. Likewise to leave out Lacazette to get Aubameyang central. He was unfortunate to lose both his first choice full backs before and during the game, but he refused the urge to put chambers back at right back, instead opting for AMN and Kolasinac who wasn't even supposed to be on the bench. In the end, it paid off and we looked like a proper footballing side once our confidence was back.
Leno - 7
Could do little about the goal with the deflection taking the ball away from the direction he was weighted. Made a couple of important saves and looked solid in the air taking crosses, something he's previously been criticised for.
AMN - 5
His energy and drive makes him a more natural right back than Chambers, able to get up and down the field. Criminal to turn his back and not get in the way properly for West ham's opener, did link with Pepe well at times.
Chambers - 8
Superb display. No nonsense defending and put his head on the line in the second half when it really mattered, it wasn't a header you'd expect Mustafi, Luiz, or Sokratis to make. His calmness at the heart of that defence was really needed.
Sokratis - 7
Got back to doing what made him a good centre half, just defending. Before the west ham opener he did very well to win the initial header and was typical of his game. He defended well, but let Chambers do the passing out from the back when it was needed.
Tierney - N/A
Xhaka - 5.5
Since his re-integration to the squad he had found his game and was on form. But today it was not happening in the first half, gave the ball away several times and was struggling in a team with zero confidence. That was compounded when he ducked under the header from Ogbonna that scored West ham's opening goal. In the second half though when the confidence returned, he suddenly found his passing range and kept things ticking along well.
Torreira - 6
He and Xhaka as a double pivot just works. Started the moves that lead to our equaliser and screened our back 4 well providing them with the protection they needed. Like most players, he started poorly but found his game when the confidence was back.
Martinelli - 8 (MOTM)
Worked his arse off in the first half for the team and winning the ball back. His first premier league goal was an important equaliser, so instead of wildly celebrating his first ever goal in the premier league at 18 years old like one might expect, he grabbed the ball and ran back to the second half to get his team going again to try and find the win. Absurd how good he is and can be.
Ozil - 5
Frankly awful in the first half. So unlike him to give the ball away but he found himself struggling to keep hold of it every time. Went missing in the end and hid away from the team. In the second half though once we found some confidence, he was the one to make things happen and looked more like the player we bought him to be all those years ago. Needs to be better and be the guy that gets us back into games when the chips are down.
Pepe - 7
Really struggled in the first half against Cresswell, who was doing a very good job of not letting Pepe get beyond him at any cost. Masuaku afforded him more space and it was telling, scored a superb goal and looked an awful lot more dangerous. The smiles are back and looks to have finally found his range!
Aubameyang - 6.5
Really really disappointing in the first half. Looked disinterested, was lazy in the opening goal trying to win the ball and helped West ham score their opening goal. An effort he had as well was blazed over in frustration. But like everyone else, suddenly he found his game when the confidence came back. He was involved in everything going forward and looked a happier man. Took his goal superbly and almost had a second at the death.
Kolasinac - 7
I am often critical of Kolasinac but tonight he deserves real credit. Wasn't even meant to be on the bench, but found himself playing more than an hour in the end. Ordinarily, he was having a good game but today even more so taking that into consideration. He defended well and got forward with the right cut back when it mattered in the second half.
Guendouzi - N/A
Nelson - N/A
@groningergooner
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