Two goals by Tomas Rosicky were enough for Arsenal to overcome West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns although the Gunners were made to work for the three points following Per Mertesacker’s second half red card. The German not only received his marching orders with twenty minutes to go but also conceded a penalty in the process which James Morrison converted to reduce the deficit to 2-1. Despite some hair-raising moments Arsene Wenger’s squad somehow managed to hold on to the win although both Romelu Lukaku and Shane Long might easily have snatched a draw.
The first half was very much the Tomas Rosicky show. Starting a Premier League game for only the second time this season the Czech was an energetic presence all over the pitch. As early as the seventh minute he could have given the Gunners the lead only to scuff his shot wide before he denied West Brom an opener by clearing a Claudio Yacob header off the line.
His pressing game in the centre of the park seemed to inspire his teammates with Ramsey, Giroud and Arteta all hustle, bustle and quick passing. By the 20th minute Rosicky had something to show for his classy performance although the plaudits should rightly be shared with Gervinho.
Full of confidence with two goals in his last two games, the Ivorian danced his way into the penalty box jinking first left then cutting onto his right to make space before curling an effort towards the far corner. Before it had a chance to test the keeper Rosicky darted across the six-yard box and headed home for his second goal of the season. It was a very tidy goal indeed. 1-0.
Rosicky and Gervinho again combined before the half hour mark; the latter forcing a decent save from Ben Foster with a diagonal drive after a speedy break. Were it not for a smart stop from Lukasz Fabianski, denying Chris Brunt from a free-kick which skipped under the Arsenal wall, the Gunners may have undeservedly been pegged back. Before the break though it was Arsene Wenger’s men who looked the more likely side to score.
Indeed in the 42nd minute they should have doubled their lead. An absolutely wonderful spell of controlled possession saw us work our way into the box before a clever backheel by Giroud set up Ramsey just yards from goal. After a heavy first touch the Welshman was left stretching to finish and with Olsson pressurising him from behind he slid the ball wide. It would have been a wonderful goal.
The second half marked a continuation of Arsenal’s fluent football with Rosicky and Gervinho again integral. First the winger set up Sagna who shot straight at Foster then two minutes later Ramsey crossed for Tomas Rosicky whose first effort on the volley was saved before he smashed home the rebound. 2-0.
Unorthodox defending by Mertesacker somehow denied James Morrison from wriggling through on goal, the German landing flat on his back on top of the ball before flicking it clear with his feet. After the good though came the bad and then the ugly from our BFG.
Moments later he sold his defensive partner, Laurent Koscielny, very short with a pass out of defence. The Frenchman had little choice but to clip the ankles of Shane Long and picked up a booking. From the resulting free-kick Fabianski denied substitute Romelu Lukaku.
Then with 20 minutes to go Mertesacker compounded a terrible 10 minutes for himself by hauling down Shane Long after watching a ball sail over his shoulder. Not only was it a nailed on penalty but the German also received his marching orders. Morrison smashed the penalty straight down the middle of the goal to reduce the deficit. 2-1. The Hawthorns crowd immediately turned up the volume.
Having been completely in control of the game against a side with little play for, Arsenal suddenly found themselves hanging on. Gervinho was sacrificed for Thomas Vermaelen then with ten minutes remaining Rosicky made way for Gibbs as Arsene Wenger attempted to pack the field with defenders.
A frustrated Arteta got Arsenal’s fourth yellow, Rosicky and Ramsey having picked up bookings in the first half, as possession was sloppily surrendered. Unable to hold onto the ball we dropped deeper and deeper to the point where pretty much every red shirt sat on the edge of the box. Somehow Lukaku squandered a fine chance to equalise with seven minutes remaining, then Long fired over from close range with two minutes left on the clock.
Coquelin replaced Cazorla as Wenger tried to run down the clock only for the fourth official to signal five added minutes. Giroud hobbled off to leave us with nine men before limping back on again. He then had a chance to kill the game as he miraculously sprinted clear in the dying seconds only for his shot to fly wide. Thankfully it didn’t matter as Webb blew for full-time.
A quite thrilling victory given the circumstances and while it should have been much easier than it was Arsenal’s defensive showing in the last 20 minutes showed all the grit and determination we’re going to need if we want that Champions League place. Cracking stuff. We’re just one point behind Spurs now.
Come on you Gunners.
Pants=soiled.
Haha, I just put mine in the laundry.
But what a great defensive performance today, including some outstanding performances by three unlikely heroes: Rosicky, Fabianski, and Ramsey
Come in u gunners that’s the way to do it.
Most common reason for heart attacks? Obesity or Arsenal?
Arsenal always Arsenal
Haha, there will be a medical study one day and it will say Arsenal supporters are most at risk of anxiety related ailments. But for some reason I love the way it hurts.
I’ll remember the match as a Rosicky hatrick( goaline clearance?).. We worked really hard today..giroud was immense..never stopped runing
If you look at the picture, he’s doing that metalhead sign with his hands. Completely unique footballer.
Beautiful.
Both front and back. Front because Rosicky grabbed a brace, particularly the second one which he cunted in like a warrior. The back, well, you know…
Didn’t we have like 6 defenders on the pitch by the end of the game? Refreshing to see Wenger change tactics as needed.
Notice how Szczęsny didn’t even make the bench? Interesting…
the BFG made a per-ilous tackle.
BFG gets only one game suspension right?
yeah
Pretty sure it’s just the one. Two yellow cards, neither of them serious, just mistimed. Unfortunately the odd red card is an occupational hazard of being a central defender.
Tell a lie; it was a straight red. Hmm, still fairly sure it’s just the one match ban.
Ramsey saved us all a celebrity loss today. What an exquisite miss.
If anyone still say ramsey had a good match, he never actually watched the match
If our players are having bad games and still get assists it means they are doing their jobs. All you can ask for
Oh don’t be a ‘john terry’.. Applaud the effort for the win…Next please!
Miss aside I thought he was fantastic today! Full of running and driving with the ball. He looks well up for the run-in
butt hole = unpuckered
Information = too much
relevance = justified
Thank fuck for that! Excuse me, I need to go change my underwear.
‘Pheww’ has never meant so much.
When we were still eleven we were unplayable. But i’d still give per for his unorthodox defending today. Rosicky deserved his. Made me think of everytime he goes into his crouchy defeated slump on the ground after we lose. Gervinho…well.
Fuck this kind of game particularly
Nah, without this type of game football would be all manner of dull. Great game I reckon.
Though, to be fair, it’s the type of game best savoured afterward.
Well it’s fun when we do last moment blocks or tackles but not when they decide to shoot wide for some reason.
oh shut the fuckup…
Yeh like u can play better If u gonna abuse then go tell it it butt
As opposed to the numerous games this season where we’ve been the side chasing an equaliser and not made it, no. Arsenal have given away the fewest points from winning positions so far this season. Well done, boys! COYG!
That was quite a scare. Not really good for my heart.
thanks to lukaku it was only just a scare.
come on ref!! 5 fooking mins of extratime!!! god that was too close…sagna’s side was crazy exposed. Crazy match.
It wasn’t pretty but we’ve got another 3 points in the bag 🙂 How poor was Giroud by the way? He couldn’t hold the ball up to save his life. He got the timing of his jumping all wrong too…
I don’t know what game you were watching, Giroud through himself into trying to win every ball. If we hadn’t had him clearing most of their corners we would have definitely conceded. He also should of had an assist with a very very unselfish backhill to Ramsey when he could have shot himself. He is not a Suarez he will pick up the ball and beat 3 or 4 players he is a Giroud which means your going to get effort, commitment and an aerial presence that we desperately need with our tiny midfield.
He definitely gives it his all, I’m not disputing that 😉 I just noticed how he was consistently unable to win any headers at all, which is kinda what you expect from your typical big striker. You want him to keep possession for the team to be able to get back into shape. He didn’t do that today.
He didn’t mean too many headers at their end of the pitch but mainly due to Olsson fouling him at every opportunity but Webb was given nothing Giroud way and often called Giroud up for absolutely nothing. He could have won more headers going forward today but his link up play is undervalued and he has a surprising turn of pace as shown at the end. Not his best day at the office but didn’t feel he deserved to be slated. I appreciate the fact were actually discussing the issue nice to find an Arsenal fan who will do so.
unfortunately for him he isn’t trying to win headers against small children. I’m not sure if you noticed but he was being marked quite a lot of the time by Jonas Ollson. He’s quite tall.
Of course I don’t want to single Giroud out, I like him very much! It’s just something I noticed during the game, and I think we’re allowed to criticize players even when the team wins. Could have written my pants are soiled (and they were) but it’s more interesting to write something that gets a debate going! 🙂
I think it was more the last 15 mins. It was clear he was knackered.
He was inconsistent on the ball, gave it away a bit too often for the team’s liking. But his play in the box and his smart one touches are an absolute delight to watch. He’s a bit underrated since he doesn’t get on the score sheet as often as you would expect a typical striker too, but his physicality helps in holding up the play and his first touches to set up players (would have loved if Ramsey had scored, what a beautiful build-up!) are huge assets. 🙂 Also, a special mention for Gervinho. I have always thought that he… Read more »
His heading was fine, but it was his apathetic attitude towards defending and tracking back that irked me. He should have been harrying those WBA defenders tirelessly, but even when Foster charged to the half way line Giroud just jogged after him.
Having said that, he played an important role today. I just thought he should’ve done more.
I agree partially, because in the early part of the game, before Mert was red carded, Giroud did a decent job of holding the ball upfront. After that, he wasn’t doing it as well as before, but I think that was partially due to the ball was not really aimed at him properly due to hasty clearance by the defending players.
Honestly I thought Giroud was poor. I’ve lost count of the amount of times over the last 5 games he is dispossessed and he stops running, looks at the sky and curses. This infuriates me and I can’t work out why people haven’t brought it up. Other players would chase after it.
Hardworking fella alright, we get that Giroud but please he has been mediocre for sometime now I don’t know if it’s because he knows he’s now an automatic starter or what?. When you are below your standards you get dropped: see schezzer, vermaelen.
I believe poldi can do a job.
@ Axel what planet are you livin?wtf are you talking about?Giroud didn’t play well? Kmt…..
Arsenal…The most nerve racking team you can be a supporter of. #afc
Refresh your nerves with the thought of Pubis city geting relegated… Here’s to hoping.. Cheers
fuck Howard Webb
He was a prick.
Called fuck all for us and made more interceptions for them than Olsson…
Manure have already won the Premier League. West Brom is not a Northern team and is not a known advocate of the Football Association-endorsed long-ball tactics. Why the hell is he still trying to rig a game against us? Is it because we didn’t have an English player in the starting XI?
Howard webb pulled an extra minute from his arse at stoppage time. Bollox.
Giroud was down for a minute after getting elbowed in the head. It was fine.
Oh great you reminded me that was supposed to be a foul on Giroud that again webb didn’t call. He’s a twat basically.
It was a foul! That baggie cunt stamped on Giroud’s foot. Also Long should’ve seen yellow for a foul on Nacho. Webb’s a blind twat basically.
Nacho Was Awesome!!
He’s a good team mate too. After the sending off I heard him tell Mertesacker
its Nacho fault
Nachorally though, i’d say it was his fault.
…and there’s the obligatory joke.
I love this website 😉
You can also tell from camera angles he was saying “it’s Nachu, it’s me”
Nacho clearly trying to overcome the language barrier and reassure big Mert.
Sweet! Marching on! Little Mozart well played!
Good performance today, top four here we come!
Sorry, mate. I must correct you: Top THREE here we come!
My, heart…
That shaved like 10 years of my life.
That resilient 20 minute span after BFG got sent off may well determine the fate of our season.
That’s true character from the side. Yeah luck was involved too, but you pretty much make you own luck right?
I think the luck is the difference between the kind of chances we were allowing. West Brom didn’t have much time and it was often on their weaker feet, as opposed to our usual presenting nice opportunities with no chance of missing.
Sunderland all over again, if not more dramatic. Still, that feeling at the final whistle, third place here we come!!!
3rd… pftt… Bring on second!
Why not the champion of england, while we’re at it ;))
Those last 20 minutes have definitely reduced my life expectancy by 10 years! Well done lads, massive 3 points!
COYG.
And Webb should never referee again. He must have had a bet on for a draw or something.
Well earned 3 points with some gutsy defending especially by Kos. Lovely well taken goals by Rosicky and nice to see Gervinho get an assist again. Top four is now ours for the taking!
Rosicky’s 2nd goal was pure class!
Does Rosicky get an assist for that one as well? 🙂
so true, i couldn’t believe it wasn’t credited more. the way he set up the ball to shoot.
on the other hand, i couldn’t believe Per’s tackle wasn’t criticised more.
COYG!
Great win today. Fabianski and Rosicky were awesome. Giroud had a Chamakh today. COYG!!!
Funny how we all watch the same game but have totally different views. I’ve read through the comments and there are those that think Giroud had a great game and others that think he had a stinker. I know that I spent a good deal of the second half yelling at the screen telling him to stop being so lazy.
Enjoyable game for 70 minutes followed by 25 minutes of torture. We got the 3 points in the end and that’s the main thing.
Fuck me old boots!
West Brom away last year was bad enough for the old arris.
Webb Brom away this year was just as bad.
Whiskey. Now.
1. Come on you gunners!!
2. Howard Webb sucks.
3. Let’s see how spurs do without the ‘missing link’ bailing them out.
Ha.ha..I see what you did there.
This team is going to give me a fucking coronary.
What the hell was Webb thinking of adding another minute to the 5 minutes added time?
What a tool!
giroud was down for a minute
It was more like 30 seconds stoppage than a whole minute.
Webb’s a cunt either way.
He bet on WBA-2 ARS-2
holy shit my hearts still beating anxiously. what a great rear guard performance. COYG!
I will never get most of Wenger’s substitutions. Vermaelen, Podolski, Chamberlain should have come on. Best defence is good attack.The way I saw it, the defence did hold on but too many chances for West Brom. The whole time in the second half, heart aches. A third goal would have settled the nerves.
Fuck the BFG for that silly tackle. Absolutely not worth it.
On a sidenote, sweet Rosicky. The camera footage of him celebrating his second goal reminded my of the 5-2 Spuds game, last year.
They should have come on? Last time I checked, we won the game therefore the right calls were made. Any excuse to moan.
Ok, my heart is feeling healthy now and not controling my brains anymore. Not “the whole second half”, after Mertesackers red card.
It did feel like the whole second half though, dear me..
I get it, we won. Credit for the outcome. Defense hold on to it, but how many chances did WBA get? That’s why a third goal would have made things a lot easier.
WE HAD 10 MEN
Ah, the emotions of roller coaster Arsenal got to me. The fact that WBA have wasted so many chances got the better of me. I literally thought the worst of it. A decent allround perfomance now we have won.
3 valuable points indeed for the CL qualification.
We won so who gives a fuck
Lets not loose the concentration while going into lead for last 7 games.
Vermaelen didn’t have to wait long did he.
Chelsea Overtaken!!!
Spuds, You’re Next!!1 *GOLDBERG Style*
Quick survey!
How many times have you shit yourself during the second half?
3 is my answer.
2.5
.5 is Fart?
still touching cloth?
.5 is a turtle, pokes head out, then retreats when the danger is cleared.
Good game by everyone in the team. Do not blame Mertesacker for dismissal, has only a split second to make decision. If anyone can pull off that tackle it would be him, but unfortunately didn’t work this time.
Pleased to see Fabianski not wasting time with goal kicks etc. All time wasting should be done in open play, smart fouls and running into corners. Was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t hold the ball after the dismissal, but everyone put in a shift and a bit so can’t complain.
Mertesacker did what he had to do. Rather try and fail then dont try at all and be percieved as lazy, epic game!
Agreed. I especially liked how he flung himself that one time, back first, on the ball, denying a clear cut chance. Like a boss lol.
I initially thought that he accidentally fell on the ball, but after looking at the gif I realised it was intentional. What a boss indeed!
I had the “butt puckers” for 15 minutes straight.
A day where the game didnt matter, it was 3 pts at ANY cost.
Job done, fuckin love you Arsenal!!!!!!
We had to rotate the defenders at some point right? 😛
Per Mertesacker: “Hmm…. can’t use my feet, can’t use my hands… I will jump on the ball with my back!”
And what a brilliant decision it turned out to be!
Thank fuck for that, not good for me health watching arsenal, great 3 points come on Sunderland
Third place here we come!!!!! Now do you people agree with me that Giroud is becoming useless? his turnovers have been on the rise of late. no goals yet he plays and poldi gets benched.
Two bad(ish) games and he’s becoming useless? A little knee-jerk there, he’s still a nuisance to defenders and that can’t be underestimated.
he scored last weekend .. give the guy a break? he’s not the henry-esque striker with a goal a game return but he does a job for the team. can’t you see that?
Scored last week, came withing a post width of an assist for Ramsey, and still was a nuisance.
If you consider that it seemed he had to be mugged to get a foul and that he was penalised for breathing on the defenders; I’d say he did OK.
What did Monreal say to Spurs?
Nacho spot!
**Taxi!!**
2-0 up and cruising only arsenal could arsenal it they way only we know how. Thank fuck that’s over. My palms were sweaty my heart was in my throat but that’s what it’s all about.
God that was important and I’m so proud of them
Hopefully vermaelen is hungry now and gives wenger something to think about when mert comes back from his suspension
Why wasn’t Szczesny in the squad? Good win, not comfortable viewing
I dunno, he wasn’t even on the bench. Odd.
Super, super tom!
Super, super tom!
Super, super tom!
Super tom Rosicky!!
Snailtersacker got burnt!
FUCK YOU HOWARD FUKING WEBB !!!!!!!!!!
IN YO MOTHAFAKING CUNTISH CUNTARD FACE!!!!!!
GO EAT SOME BANANAS YOU TOOL!!!!!!!
I’m not going to talk about the negatives, i’m just happy we won.
Love the little Mozart! Can live without having to experience the last 20 minutes again!
COYG
Omg Rosicky!! You. Are. Awesome. :*
Except the pass to rosicky, ramsey was poor. Rubbish.
rambo did ok he had some nice stops in midfield and FINALLY the back heel passed worked for him lol
I’d say he did even more than okay, he was outstanding yesterday save for the miss, which he really should have converted. Apart from that, yet another solid performance by him. The team as a whole showed some true grit in holding on for the win.
WOW. I’m not sure i’ve been as nervous watching arsenal before. No idea where 5 mins injury time came from. Not that it matters…we’re 4th.
Hopefully that’s as hard as its going to get, knowing Arsenal though…
It all went a bit Per-shaped late in the 2nd half.
COYG! Took 4 paracetamol to ease my headache, but we did it! Awesome defending when it mattered the most. Rosicky MOTM!!! Cmon! Shove spuds down the toilet where they belong!
Howard Webb was on it today. Thankfully we got the 3 points in the end.