Arsenal: Cech, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Xhaka, Elneny, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Alexis, Lacazette
Subs: Ospina, Mertesacker, Ozil, Wilshere, Maitland-Niles, Walcott, Giroud
—
Two goals from Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over West Brom at the Emirates this evening, but they had some scary moments to survive, particularly in the first half.
Alexis Sanchez got his first Premier League start of the season but Mesut Ozil, returning from injury, had to be content with a place on the bench.
The Chilean had the first shot in anger, curling a free kick inches wide in the 5th minute, while there was a fantastic chance for West Brom just minutes later.
Jay Rodriguez got into the Arsenal area and pulled the ball back. Shkodran Mustafi, as he does, went to ground and took the striker’s legs from underneath him. Referee Bobby Madley played on, Rodriguez took a shot which Cech touched onto the post, it rebounded into the area, and another West Brom player put it wide. It was a big, big let off.
A nice Arsenal move from left to right saw Bellerin clip a cross on the volley back towards Aaron Ramsey who headed just over. The returning Kieran Gibbs fizzed a shot not far wide, and in possession Arsenal struggled to find space against a well organised opposition.
It took a set-piece to break the deadlock. Elneny was fouled on the edge of their box, again Alexis took the free kick and almost scored himself as the ball crashed back off the crossbar. Alexandre Lacazette had followed in though, and had the simple task of heading home from inside the six yard box to make it 1-0.
Nacho Monreal almost found a way through but just couldn’t get the ball under control to get a shot away, and replays showed he’d been pulled back by Nyom. A brilliant run by Ramsey was found by Alexis, but he couldn’t find a cross to match it, and there was a shout for a penalty when the Chilean had his shirt pulled in the box but again the referee showed no inclination to penalise any penalty box indiscretions.
Another Sanchez free kick whistled just wide in the 36th minute, but sloppy play in midfield saw West Brom fashion a great chance just afterwards. Rodriguez thought he’d leveled things up with a close-range header that beat Cech, but an incredible Monreal clearance off the line prevented the goal.
Rodriguez pulled a shot wide, before Robson-Kanu flicked a header just beyond Cech’s far post, and Arsenal were less than comfortable – their sloppiness almost costing them on a number of occasions.
Alexis picked up a yellow card, seemingly for dissent, as West Brom added some pressure late in the first period, and following a corner they almost scored again, once more Rodriguez was the man who couldn’t apply the finish.
The Gunners took the one goal lead into the break, and an early second half cross from Bellerin caused some panic in the West Brom aread but ultimately came to nothing. Dawson was booked for a foul on Sanchez, and great work from Kolasinac and Elneny created a good chance for Lacazette but his goal-bound shot was deflected over the bar by Gibbs.
Mustafi flicked a corner into hands of Ben Foster, Krychowiak was the next man in the book for a foul on Elneny, and a nice turn from Alexis saw him cross for Ramsey but the danger was snuffed out.
Nice interplay and one touch passing between Ramsey, Elneny and Bellerin saw the Spaniard find some space but his cross was blocked. From the resulting period of play though, Ramsey burst into the box and was barged over by Nyom. This time the referee had no compunction about pointing to the spot, and Lacazette stepped up and coolly slotted home to double the lead. 2-0.
It was almost a hat-trick a couple of minutes later when the French international took down a beautiful Alexis pass, rounded the keeper but blasted over the bar. The two goal cushion emboldened Xhaka to have a pop from distance but he fired wide, and Dawson was lucky to escape a second yellow when he slid on Alexis from behind.
Bellerin cracked a shot from just inside the area, but saw it deflected just over the bar, before Arsene Wenger made his first changes of the night, bringing on Olivier Giroud for two-goal hero Lacazette and Mesut Ozil for Alexis in the 82nd minute.
Xhaka should have added some gloss to the scoreline but side-footed over the bar from 12 years, Giroud and Ozil almost combined to set the German through on goal, and Ramsey took a pop after being sent through by Giroud although the Frenchman was waiting in the middle for the pass which would notch him his 100th Arsenal goal.
In the end, Arsenal were worth the win, although they rode their luck in a first half that could have proved far more costly.
I’m in love with Nacho Monreal
Incredibly the referee was more on our side than theirs. Rare.
Thumbed you down because I want you to stop using my name.
The first Paul on here should keep his name.
Is that the one that likes Gibbs?
Cant be too difficult to make it so noone can have the same name as another user. Surely.
I had this with a second Sam appearing. I suppose you can’t have too many Sams.
I am Paul and so is my wife…
Get a cat and dog and call them Peter and Mary. COYGS!
I’m asparagus!
I thumbed him down because the ref was just poor and got plenty of decisions wrong both ways.
it’s an anonymous username on a football blog, nobody cares mate
Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.
Ok, how about you both call the name and see which one of you Paul comes to.
Why don’t you call yourself Original Paul?
Huh? Their penalty aside. Dawson should’ve had a second yellow, Monreal penalty and Sanchez penalty. But yeah other than that Bobby was on “our side”? Then Sky let Pulis go in on the ref & call Sanchez a cheat. But don’t ask him about the above, or why his team was time wasting the whole 1st half. I expect this rubbish from pundits (sadly titi too) but how’re they being so blatant? Silly me I suppose. Up the Arsenal.
Not rare at all. As often more for us as they are against us. You just don’t dwell on the ones like tonight.
We were denied an obvios penalty when Alexis had his shirt pulled but of course nobody mentions that.
11/10 performance
That game felt so good!!!
I know it’s early but Nacho should be up there for player of the season. What a consistent and underrated player he is. And that goal line clearance. Just wow !
He is a great man.
That goal line clearance though!???
He’s fast taking Santi’s most lovable little guy mantle away from him
Motm. Easy.
Most consistent player for a number of seasons now. Should be on
Should be on the field all game every game.
I thought Maitland Niles was a little quiet.
Apparently he’s burnt out
But he didn’t make any mistake.
Really?? He didn’t even touch the ball..
Exactly. Needs to get more involved if he wants to secure a first team place. Ozil and Giroud seemed almost non existent until the 80th minute as well.
Lovely analysis there from Michael Owen
On the contrary… his one touch was sublime. Straight into the appearance money pot.
Come on guys, help Giroud get his 100th goal!! I was screaming at the end when Ramsey shot instead of passing it back to him!
Typical Ramsey.
@Vonnie, took those words right out of my mouth!
thursday !!
Typical Ramsey going for glory with several of his team mates in better positions than him, not least a proven goal scorer like Giroud, and does he score? Does he fuck! So irritating!
Sacrilege! Ramsey is Jesus and Wenger his creator.
did you post it even before the whistle blogs??? This was super fast.
Good result. Onward and upward.
We should have bought a replacement for Xhaka. He contributes nothing to a team that likes to keep possession. He loses the ball, whenever he is pressed by the opposition.
Was by far our worst player tonight, I agree. But I have seen him playing very well in that system at the end of last season so I think it’s more about form than quality. But we have Wilshere ready to take his place if his form doesn’t improve.
Nothing wrong with his form.
i really don’t get what this guy brings to the team. would love for someone to explain his qualities and what makes him so important
It really bothers me that you are unable to get what quality this guy brings to the team
Considering u Alex Iwobi
I like Xhaka. But I think we could improve on both of our midfield players.
I don’t dislike Xhaka. But I do feel he loses possession too much in crucial situations.
Do you really watch the game. Most creative midfielder in the country and was excellent tonight
Mate, most creative midfielder in th country? That is the biggest load of tripe I’ve heard in a while. How many chances did he create tonight? Chaka is good, but he has a lot of areas in his game that he needs to improve on.
that penalty was really well taken.. 🙂
yeah, no messing about, just belting it in the corner, loved it 🙂
I love Lacazette
Decent performance in the end, but as much as I love the guy, have to say Ramsey’s performance reminded me a lot of watching him a couple of years back on the right of the attack. Perfectly functional in that position and capable of the odd decisive moment, but he’s no Mesut in that role. So much better playing from CM. Surely Wenger will go with the Alexis-Ozil-Laca front three we all expected tonight against Brighton? Cue Ozil and Alexis behind Giroud on the weekend…
The difficulty with Ramsey is that because he’s so undisciplined, you have to set up the rest of your team to protect him while he’s running about leaving gaps. Is he good enough to merit that kind of special treatment? I would say no.
THIS! Thank you, man!
I would normally agree and have criticised Ramsey a lot in the past, but today he played as one of the two attacking midfielders and for a player in that position he definitely did his defensive work. Is this opinion based on this game??
They set the team up tonight to accommodate him. Was it worth it?
He’s the obvious successor if Mesut does leave at the end o’ the season… only one in this team that can play a modern No10 as far as I can see. Wenger wants Rambo to sign an extension? Probably needs to play him in that role a bit to convince him, no? It worked tonight anyway and thought that he has shown discipline this season when needed to, Anfield apart.
I’d suggest Iwobi and Jack can play that role as well. They’re both a bit more creative but not as active in the role though.
We played the exact same formation we have played in every game since the end of last season…
We won, so yes it was worth it…
Ramsey clearly is a good player but has probably too much belief in his own ability. He’s a lung-busting box to box midfielder who puts in tremendous effort, but sadly a lot of it is misplaced. I’ll go mad if Wenger either benches Ozil or shifts him wide to play Ramsey in the no 10 position. It’s possible: AW did this a few seasons back with Wilshere in Ozil’s position. It didn’t work well, but it took an injury to Jack for AW to change it.
I liked Ramsey on the right as a counter balance to Alexis on the left because he comes in to support the midfield and retains posession and is a safer player. Also worth noting that Bellerin’s best form has come with Ramsey ahead of him on the right wing because it gives him license to overlap knowing Ramsey has the engine to cover
Nacho motm. Xhaka worst player
Nacho and Elneny co-motm for me. Pretty glaring how much more effective Mo was than Xhaka both defensively, tempo-setting, and even supporting the attack. And I like Xhaka.
I didn’t think mo had a very good game, positionally was quite good. But his touch was terrible and he still dawdles on the ball.
Thought both cm werent particularly good, and Alexis isn’t hitting the form he has had previously.
Alexis was brilliant. What match were you watching?
Gave the ball away too much and picked wrong passes. That’s the way I saw it…
Just like your previous comment. Not at all accurate. Alexis gave the ball away almost every time he had it and there were a few occasions he tried to beat somebody when passing was clearly the right option. Sure he is a threat, but he played below himself tonight.
Dawdles on the ball?
Doodles, surely?
Both..
Do you think he doesn’t or are you disputing the use of the word dawdle? I’m confused.
Monreal MOTM for me. Not only for his crucial block, but he intercepted so many passes, was brave to win so many tackles and headers, and even did good going forward sporadically.
Agree great performance shaded Bellerien and the Beast
I hope Nacho’s playing his way into being a regular member of the Spain world cup squad and gets to go to Russia. Really like him.
It says a lot about West Brom when Gibbs takes the corners and free kicks. Hopefully, Gibbs will be handed the armband too. He did have a good, disciplined performance.
Someone please explain to me how our players get simple passes wrong, what goes on in training? Wonder how many times we gave the ball today.
Overall, good performance, esp in the second half. Good win, and good game. A Lacazette hatrick would have been sublime, nonetheless, good win.
Team lacks creativity and technical ability. We’re screwed if both Mesut and Alexis leave.
Bring back Rosicky
With a more creative and clinical opposition, our play today would have resulted in a loss or draw. Lost the ball too many times and scuffed too many chances. 2-0 is lovely and I’m happy for the win but the semi-mediocrity scares me a bit. I’m hoping this is just us shaking off the last of the rust. Praying. We need a new DM and a Creative Midfielder (2 if Ozil leaves). A left-winger Sanchez replacement when he goes too. A back up RB and a CB. All of this to win the league next season. 5 signings. Hopefully the… Read more »
As much as Gibbs frustrated me throughout his Arsenal career, I did feel a twinge of sadness seeing him play for another team.
For a change, one of the most effective contribution for us…in the first half came from the ref.
Elneny had a good game in the middle and Ramsey in the front.
Onwards and upwards
Blogs arsed on the blog section seems to be banjaxed
Suck on that Tony
*arses*
I prefer watching real football but I suppose it’ll have to do
Shout out to Ainsley Maitland-Niles for a 3 second cameo
West Brom pressed well first half but ran out of steam.
Monreal MOM
Bellerin best game for a long time
Thought Elneny and Cech did quite well as well.
Bellerin’s been quietly brilliant in every game he’s played since the Anfield debacle. The wing backs might just be my favourite thing about our side at the moment. Oh and obviously Nacho, but that goes without saying.
First half was terrible, much better effort in the second though. Monreal outstanding!!
Good to have won and Lacazette scoring a couple. We’re so shaky defending though, can we improve in that department? I can’t help thinking that the top teams would have scored those 3 chances they had in the first half
Most if not all of our defensive problems come from losing possession through dawdling on the ball in midfield or from loose passes played far too casualy!
Excellent performance from the team
It could have been so much more. Xhaka needs to raise his head more often and see those runs by our attackers. Still saw so many missed opportunities that Ramsey was just waiting for that ball. Wilshere definitely still has a role in that midfield. I couldn’t help but feel it was a missed opportunity to lay down our title intent just like the rest of the top teams. Good one Lacazette
We were fucking awesome in the second half
I miss Santi ;(
Good win against underrated team. Well done boys. Keep the momentum going.
Ozil not bothering to chase that pass down left at end is why fans get frustrated with him. I know he is top class, but when you’ve just come on with 7 mins to play please chase everything. Pulis, Moreen,Conte, Pep, Klopp would have ripped him a new arsehole for that. Pats on the back from AW.
that’s ridiculous. if I know the one you’re referring to, he had to pull up his run because the pass was delayed so he was offside, and just as he did so, Giroud then played the ball, far too hard (typically poor passing on the break from our lovable HFB). there was no way Ozil was getting it anyway, and his momentum was in the wrong direction. so better to move back into your place in the team’s shape than chase a lost cause when you’re winning 2-0 at home with like 3 minutes to go. it’s silly complaints like… Read more »
I find it fascinating that Ozil is the only no.10 in the league judged on his defensive work and running in the media. Coutinho wandered around and did no tracking back in a game that Liverpool would have drawn 3-3 if Vardy didn’t miss his penalty but there is no criticism in the media for him
If you are type of fan that gets frustrated when a player gives up on a ball that is clearly going out of bounds then sorry my fellow gooner but you are an idiot lol none of those above managers would have cared either. How do I know? I don’t, just like you smh
Nacho MOTM Mustafi is a liability and there is no middle ground with Xhaka he is either very good or terrible
Finally, we have a positive goal difference. Still a long way to catch up the manchester teams at the top. COYG!!!
Worrying first half as they really got in behind us and should have bee level at the break. That said the team really shut the whole thing down in the second. Excellent win, no injuries and Tony Pulis seething with a sense of injustice, hardly a better Monday can be had.
Monreal man of the first half, Elneny man of the second half.
MONREEEAAAL!!! What a gem of a player. Man of the match for me; Lacazette close on his heels.
I see why Arsene was open to letting Mustafi go. That early tackle, on another day, could have turned the game on it’s head. I wish this guy could learn to stay on his feet for heaven’s sake!
I know Ozil lovers will hate to hear this, but i think we’re seeing the evidence or exactly what many of us has suspected for a while; this team’s overall sum is greater without Ozil starting, and Ramsey as a no.10.
Not being anti-Ozil at all but it’s what many of us suspected, and it’s early to judge, but I think Wenger has finally clocked on to it.
Hmmm. I actually thought Ramsey didn’t play very well today, tried hard, but not much came off.
Thought he was very solid and disciplined actually, kept the ball and closed down quite well. Same with Elneny.
Solid and disciplined isn’t exactly what we want from our main playmaker. I think ramsey is a good player, I just think he chose the wrong option a lot today. He could be an excellent CM if he kept it simpler in some cases
None of them have calmness on the ball that Ozil has(except Laca who is a striker). Arsenal is not Arsenal anymore without Ozil or Cazorla. We can rip the opposition apart if both of them can start. First half was a complete shit show and that’s down to the lack of intelligence when on the ball.
And I think Xhaka just wasn’t performing. So many passes he could and should have made
If Mesut had made a sloppy pass to nowhere that led to that Nacho clearance off the line he would have been slaughtered for it. Ramsey is an over-rated glory boy who is selfish and always getting in the way of his team mates. About time Wenger clocked on to that.
Thanks for calling out that it was Ramsey who was sloppy under the WBA pressure and gave that ball away. His gesticulating at the far post whenever his teammates didn’t send it his was…how is it ok for Ramsey but not for Ozil and Sanchez?
I thought he was OK today only because he was further up the field where he could do less defensive damage.
I totally concur with your view, again, Vonnie. Unfortunately he seems to be an AW favourite, not on merit imo.
You’re Welsh, right?
Yep let’s drop the guy who has more assists and created more chances than any other since he’s been in premiership. And better still let’s replace him with a guy who has a great engine but doesn’t score or create much ????
Does De Bruyne play for us?
No he hasn’t. With Ozil we would have scored more goals with the chances he would have created as he usually does
Faisal, OK, I’m not even going to point out the obvious counter-arguments to your claim which come to light as soon as one analyzes the players and what they each bring to the team. I’m just going to point out you’re drawing this conclusion from one (ONE!) game. At home. A 2-0 win against West Brom (Pulis is tough to play against at home, but we’ve beaten his teams every game we’ve played them at the Emirates) in which neither of our goals came from open play, but from two fouls, both of which neutrals would be forgiven for calling… Read more »
Yeah sure. Ramsey tries hard to make things happen. But he’s got no bloody end product. Ok a bit unfair – sometimes he does. But for the most part his precision in critical moments just isn’t good enough for this level. Nuf said
Monreal and Cech immense today. Monreal MOTM along with the Ref.
Players who didn’t turn up:
El Neny, Xhaka, Ramsey, Sanchez and Mustafi.
The freekick by Sanchez that nearly went in and then lead to the first goal. Not bad for someone who wasn’t there.
He hit the target with one free kick from three good positions in first half . That’s not good enough…sorry
Although I do rather agree, look around the other PL teams and see what their ‘hit ratio’ for free kicks is, and then you’ll appreciate that 1 in 3 isn’t bad. Just not as good as we’d like it to be.
El Neny – Didn’t keep it compact in the first half. Too many lazy touches could have costed us the game. Played well in the second half. Alexis- Not his best of days but what pissed me off was his reaction when he got subbed off. Alexis has to deal with the fact that he is not our go to guy for goals anymore. Ramsey- He put in an energetic performance, i’ll give him that but, lacked intelligence and patience in build up. Nonetheless, a decent performance. Xhaka and Mustafi – 35 million each??WOW. Says a lot about the modern… Read more »
Elneny was excellent today, he gives us such fluency and he’s growing bolder with his passes in the final third, which is what will ultimately decide his long term future with us, imo.
Agreed. He may play his way into the first XI, IMO. I think it’s Xhaka who could be looking over his shoulder if Jack shows anything.
Good to see Bellerin winning a few arial contests.
6.5/10 teamwork,missed opportunities could’ve got more goals.Tbh I hate the possession based football of arsenal.You see teams like man city ,man utd currently banging goals because they create more chances such that the probability of scoring is more.Overall Ramsey’s linkup play and positioning was far better than Ozils Monreal best of back 3 good in defense and rarely offense.Xhakas carelessness annoys me when he’s pressed maybe Wilshere has a comeback here.Its best if Wenger plays 3412 with Sanchez Lacazette up front with Oil behind with Sanchez being a False 9.Looking forward for the matches where we play mancity Tottenham consecutively.
A good win with some nice patches of play throughout the game. Monreal MoTM for me, with Lacazette, Bellerin and Bobby Madley playing well for us too.
The natural confidence is still not there yet, which explains some of the stray passes but fuuuck it’s annoying to watch when our moves break down in the final third/giving the ball away as much as we did.
Happy that’s the only thing we can complain about tonight though!
Madeley didn’t give us an obvious penalty when Alexis had his shirt pulled so I’m not sure why you thought the ref favoured us
The fact that Rodriguez didn’t get one of the most obvious penalties I’ve ever seen, while we did get a penalty for something less, firmly puts Madeley in the Arsenal starting line up for me. That decision was so bad that I was expecting us not to get anything from him for the rest of the game, but we did.
There were 4 clear penalties. If he’d given them all then we’d have had 3 and WBA would have had just one.
Very iffy first half. We were very dynamic but we also gave them 3 opportunities on the break which on a typical day, we could have been punished for. First one, Mustafi was lucky to get away with it. You just knew he was going to dive in. The last one, Monreal was excellent covering and he gave the rest of the backline a proper rollicking. Thereafter we were more switched on. Good to see Wenger brought them on second half prepped and fired up. Second goal for us was a bit fortunate as well bc on another day, it… Read more »
Frustrating to see Sanchez repeatedly trying to turn and beat two guys in his own half and lose it (leading to danger), rather than play back to secure possession. He’s definitely a take-the-bad-with-the-good player. Had some moments with Sead though, which is a mouth-watering prospect.
LacaNewSigning.
I only saw the second half after returning from Rock it Club.
Elneny is rather good!
Rock it Club is the place to go for people with learning disabilities to have a good night out every Monday from 7pm to 9pm.
Sounds like you’d have a good time there.
I see you found us on Facebook new Paul. You post is unacceptable imo.
Nacho FINALLY gets a damned Motm award….Been our most consistent player last 2 even 3 years. Had a couple of mares last year that made people forget this.
Standard two nils are welcome, but…are they lulling us into a false sense of security…I expect heart destroying 4-3’s again soon.
That moment with Ramsey and Giroud is why i get irritated with Ramsey despite his resurgence recently.
Hopefully we can keep this up for a long time..If anything im beginning to enjoy the mood around the club again.
West Brom love to waste time don’t they! They really suck the enjoyment out of football. Foster seemed determined to hold the ball for every second available even with 5mins left and 2-0 down. Its just embarrassing. Please bring in a stopped clocked 60 minute game for everyone’s sake.
It is a sad reflection on the quality and ambitions of WBA when they start time wasting after 12 minutes…
Great win tonight and more positive play and we have a say in EPL crown
“side-footed over the bar from 12 years, ” – love a good troll before bed.
Good night 😉
Just a quick shout-out to the Dublin Arsenal fanclub. First night in Dublin and I happen to stumble into the pub they call home. Good night, good game. Up the Arsenal!
Sky’s bias is obvious ! Two very obvious pens turned down FOR us NOTHING said not even shown twice again let alone adnauseum as the baggies non pen award was not even mentioned in the afternoon match poor hard done by Tony Pubis love in ! Apparently Sanchez dived for a free kick (not the one where we scored ) the goblin kings accuses Sanchez of cheating! He even moans about Girouds goal LAST season saying that was a free kick to his team ! His teams set out to frustrate and commit nasty niggling fouls he was lucky his… Read more »
Pubic seemed to miss Dawson grabbing Alexis for that first foul (which he called a dive). I guess his foaming spittle must have covered his glasses…
Nacho, Sead & Kieran, all quality
xhaka waited for 12 years? cool ?
It’s strange that Alexis who was clearly MOTM hardly gets a mention. Who said he wouldn’t give 100%?
Thought Alexis was bang average myself…would be good to see his (missed) passing stats and stats where he was dispossessed…
Great win, but same mistakes again.
Not trying to poop this party but only a matter of time before this really becomes a problem yet again. This season, it’s going to take one defeat before the doom and gloom returns. Unfortunate, but true.
Can somebody tell my why Mustaf can’t stay on his feet….its frustrating….Elneny was good today,and the ever consistent Nacho…good win,clean sheet…more of thesame pls…
What the heck happened to Xhaka? Looked like a shadow of a player today.
Elneny, on the other hand, reminded me of Isco today: beautiful touches, quick passes, great vision, skillful, and running all over the place.
Sanchez needs to release the ball quicker and play more with the team.