A fairly routine win it was, and one which have been missing from our game for the past 8 months. Arseblog has the full match report, while 7amkickoff provides us with some interesting and eye-pleasing statistics from yesterday’s match.
It was a good match on show yesterday, with Arsenal dominating possession and probing West Brom’s defense at ease. The first goal came courtesy of Rambo’s awesome through pass, which found Walcott. Walcott attempted a shot at goal, which was palmed away into Van Persie’s path, and our skipper duly obliged by turning in the ball towards goal to continue his phenomenal scoring rate in the year 2011. Please listen to Van Basten and sign the new contract please!
Contrary to previous games, where we seem to slip up easily after scoring a goal, we were as good as West Brom was poor, and managed to reduce the opportunities West Brom could have to zero. Instead, Arsenal took the initiative, and played fast flowing football to try and further the lead. Another goal was in the offing, and it came duly, with Vermaelen being the scorer. A corner was cleared out from West Brom’s box, and Song got the ball back and made a delightful cross to RVP at the far right of the penalty box. RVP caught the ball down, and cut it back into the 5 yards box. It seems to gain a flick off from Gervinho, and Vermaelen who was still attacking in the box from the aforementioned corner was on hand to ram the ball past Foster. In truth, it was poor keeping by Foster, as the ball was almost straight at him, just a little to his right. However, his poor reaction and reflexes were to Arsenal benefit, so boo-hoo-hoo, 2-0 to the Arsenal!
The second half started with a bit more urgency from West Brom, but Arsenal were irrepressible with our confidence flowing. Delightful passes were made, chances were created, defense was resolute, and Szczesny was almost a bystander. I almost wanted to cry out to Arsene to take off RVP to give Park a chance, and give RVP a well-deserved rest. However, he didn’t do neither.
Fortunately, an impotent performance from West Brom contributed to Arsenal’s advantage, and Arteta scored a beautiful Arsenal goal to kill off the game completely and not bring about a repeat of what happened at Wigan last season. Rosicky played a ball to RVP, who in turn passed it to Arteta and from the edge of the box, Arteta unleashed a shot into the bottom left corner of goal. 3-0 it was.
After the match, Artetainsisted that we still can improve. We can, and we have to, not in the aspect of scoring goals or defending, but rather in general, consistency in performances. We know we are capable of winning games, but to do it on a frequent basis is another point altogether.
All in all, it was a good win, and a good clean sheet. It’s such a shame that while being on a tremendous unbeaten streak that the games have to be halted for the international break. Continuity is of essence, and we can only hope that the players would return and be able to continue with their brilliant performances so far. It feels good to be a gunner now doesn’t it?
Players ratings as I opinionated!
Szczesny – Calm and composed. Was alert when it came to challenging for balls. Nothing much to do the whole afternoon. 7 / 10
Santos – Decent by all standards, though his positioning is slightly off sometimes. Still learning. 6.5 / 10
Jenkinson – Quality crossing from him all afternoon. Is raw, and pushed off the ball easily at times. Positioning is a question too, but really at his age, this problem should be rectified with games. Will be one to look out for in the future. 7 / 10
Koscielny – Commanding presence. Tracked back at times to help Jenkinson, and simply gave West Brom little chances. 7.5 / 10
Vermaelen – It’s good to be back. The Verminator returns to show his eye for goal, which was seen in his first season. Liked the way he marshalled our defense. Really helps to bring an aura of calmness to the backline. 8 / 10
Song – Strong in getting ball back, good passes and crosses too. 7 / 10
Arteta – He gave what I expected to see from him. Good control of the midfield, made passes to get out of trouble. Got forward when needed, and was rewarded with a good goal. 7.5 / 10
Ramsey / Rambo – You can see he is developing well. It was another good performance from him, with his passes and runs. Was all over the place, right left center. Could turn out to be our Fabregas in the making if he keeps it up. 7.5 / 10
Walcott – Decent from the youngster, using his pace to good effect. 7 / 10
Gervinho – Was pure live-wire, running with the ball at defenders, giving them hell. Would be missing his directness when he leaves for the ACN. Could have scored a goal if not for Foster denying him with a good save. 7 / 10
RVP – Showed good awareness and positioning to be in place and react to the save of Foster. Carried on with his goal scoring streak in 2011. Assisted Arteta with our 3rd goal as well. As one of the banner’s said, “We don’t need Batman, we have Robin. 7.5 / 10
Being Arsenal FC Bystander 