Exceptional Welbeck Won The Points

Match Review: West Brom 0 Arsenal 1 - Premier League 29.11.14

Arsenal are finally back to winning ways in the Premier League, but the 1-0 triumph in the midlands was not a comfortable affair. It’s one to file under ‘gritty away wins’, an important, if unglamorous victory. However, we’re certainly in a recovery/rebuilding phase at the moment, so any win, no matter how ugly is worth its weight in gold.

The good news from the starting XI was that Laurent Koscielny made his long awaited return, along with Olivier Giroud. Danny Welbeck had also recovered from a knock to start, this time from the left. I have to admit, I’m not comfortable with shunting Danny out wide, what he needs for his development is an extended run of starts through the middle, I don’t think it benefits the team nor Welbeck to have him playing out wide. Aside from that, Emi Martinez made his first Premier League start due to Szczesny’s injury and Gibbs and Chamberlain were rested.

Surprisingly, we were starved of possession in the opening exchanges. West Brom had the majority of the ball but did absolutely nothing with it, while we at least looked threatening when we advanced. Santi Cazorla had a number of shots, but most of them were comfortable saves fro Ben Foster, while he also made a more impressive save from Danny Welbeck after he was slipped through by a beautiful Ramsey pass. That was our best chance, while at the other end, Martinez wasn’t forced to make a single save as West Brom failed to notch a shot on goal. It felt like we were the better team, but that we hadn’t done enough to deserve a goal and 0-0 was exactly what both teams deserved at half time.

There wasn’t much change to the game in the second half. West Brom continued to be uninventive and relied entirely on Berahino’s ability to create opportunities for himself. However, we did survive a heart stopping moment when it appeared Berahino had beaten the offside trap and been sent through on goal. The linesman flagged for offside, but replays seemed to suggest the England striker was very unlucky. We dodged a bullet and we capitalised on it to take control of the game.

Santi Cazorla, playing in his natural role in front of the midfield, drifted out to the left and made a mess of Andre Wisdom. From the byline, he clipped a perfect ball back towards the six yard line and Danny Welbeck produced a stunning leap and powerful header to give us the lead. It was brilliant from Cazorla, but also exceptional striking play from Welbeck. He held his run to give himself a couple of yards on the defender and timed his run and jump perfectly to meet Cazorla’s cross. A moment of absolute quality in a game that was lacking in it and it proved decisive.

© Arsenal.com

Although defensively we weren’t challenged for much of the game, West Brom did rally late on and could well have drawn level when Berahino beat Chambers in the air and headed against the crossbar. It was as close as the home side got to scoring and in the end we were deserved, if not comfortable, winners. Despite our great record at the Hawthorns, it is very rarely an easy trip, so I think we can all be very pleased with the points despite the slightly mediocre performance.

Alas, there seem to always be negative points to an Arsenal game and quite astonishingly, we’ve picked up yet more injuries, including knocks to both our left backs. Gibbs, Monreal and Chamberlain all left the game with various niggles and ahead of a very difficult midweek game against Southampton, it quite frankly takes the piss. You can say all you want about not buying enough players and cover and all that, but when both your left backs get injured in the same game, you know you’re bang out of luck. Hopefully one of them will make a recovery in time, otherwise I have genuinely no idea who will play there…

One final thing I wanted to mention was the tragic passing of cricketer Phil Hughes. I know this site has nothing to do with cricket, but as a cricket fan and player and in a wider context, simply a sports fan, I have been deeply shocked and saddened like many others. Whatever sport you’re into, or even if you’re not into sport, it’s a sobering reminder that life is fragile and fleeting. So while you’re enjoying weekend or looking forward to the Christmas holidays, spare a thought for Phil Hughes and his family and friends.

Teams

West Brom (4-4-2)
Foster, Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Pocognoli (Gamboa 75’ (Y)), Mulumbu (Anichebe 65’), Gardener, Brunt, Dorrans (Y), Sessegnon (Samaras 75’), Berahino
Subs
Myhill, Gamboa, Baird, Ideye, McAuley, Samaras, Anichebe

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Martinez, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal (Gibbs 23’), Flamini, Ramsey, Alexis, Cazorla, Welbeck, Giroud (Chamberlain 78’ (Y))
Subs
Macey, Gibbs, Rosicky, Campbell, Podolski, Bellerin, Chamberlain

Player Ratings

Martinez - 7/10 - Looked very assured and his kicking was excellent
Chambers - 5/10 - Had a poor game today, caught out of position and beaten too often
Mertesacker - 7/10 - A real rock of a performance, particularly strong in the air
Koscielny - 7/10 - Please don’t ever go away again Laurent, please
Monreal - 6/10 - Restored to his natural position, but injured within 25 minutes. *Sigh*
Flamini - 6/10 - Quietly did his job after some rocky form recently
Ramsey - 6/10 - Trying hard, but it’s not quite there for him at the moment
Welbeck - 8/10 - Did a great job from the flanks and scored a pleasing power header
Cazorla - 8/10 - Man of the match, our creative force and worked hard in defence too
Alexis - 6/10 - A rare off game for our talisman, but after what he’s done, he’s earned one
Giroud - 6/10 - A quiet return to the starting line up
Subs
Gibbs - 7/10 - Had another solid game once introduced, fingers crossed he’s not injured
Chamberlain - N/A

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