{"id":4392,"date":"2021-12-16T11:18:39","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T11:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4392"},"modified":"2021-12-17T22:03:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T22:03:56","slug":"gunners-cast-iron-fist-over-hammers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4392","title":{"rendered":"Gunners Cast Iron Fist Over Hammers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Arsenal moved into the top four for the first time this season with a dynamic 2-0 victory over rivals West Ham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening. Much of the pre-match build up was centred around Pierre Emerick Aubameyang being stripped of the captaincy after his latest breach of Arteta\u2019s non-negotiables. However, much like the win over Southampton on Saturday, his teammates did not seem to miss his presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd were very much geared up for this one. After some mixed results of late, perhaps fans were unsure what to expect from this Arsenal side, who were up against a strong West Ham side who had already beaten Liverpool and Chelsea in the league in recent weeks. Arteta named an unchanged side for the third league match in a row for the first time as manager. Emile Smith Rowe had shaken off a knock but had to make do with a place on the bench. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gunners started strongly, dominating possession without creating too much in the way of clear-cut chances. West Ham seemed fairly content to sit back and let Arsenal play in front of them and attempt to draw them in and catch them on the break. Bukayo Saka looked particularly lively on the right-hand side causing West Ham to double mark him. However, it was the visitors who had the first real sight of goal. Ben White cleared a free kick from Bowen but it only fell as far as Pablo Fornals whose curling effort whistled wide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly before the break the dangerous Saka exchanged passes with Martin \u00d8degaard before laying the ball to Xhaka who saw his effort well blocked. The ball broke out to Tierney who took a touch to set himself before crashing the ball onto the bar. Replays showed that Fabianski did get a touch. But this encouraged Arsenal, and Saka was also involved in the next move as he fed Lacazette who swivelled and shot from the edge of the area but once again the \u2018keeper met it well. Goalless at the break but an encouraging half from the home side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half continued in very much the same vein. Arsenal continued to dominate, and, on 48 minutes, the pressure finally told. Gabriel played a forward ball to Lacazette who turned and sent Martinelli through with a pass that Dennis Bergkamp would\u2019ve been proud of. If the assist was Bergkamp-esque, then the finish from Martinelli had Thierry Henry written all over it. The Brazilian took one touch before curling the ball into the far corner sending the home fans into raptures. It was just the latest indication of just how much potential this young man possesses. After a stunning first season in English football his second season was frustratingly disrupted by the serious injury, he picked up in the first lockdown, but he has forced his way into the starting line up over the past few weeks. Martinelli was constantly overlooked by Arteta in the opening weeks of the season, but he now has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 starts in the Premier League. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often this season, Arsenal have been guilty of sitting back after taking the lead instead of taking the initiative. Would this be the case today? Well, at one point it looked like Arsenal were indeed slipping back into old habits as \u00d8degaard, who was under no pressure, played a blind pass in a dangerous area that was seized upon by Jarrod Bowen who saw his curling effort well saved by Aaron Ramsdale. It was a big warning sign for Arsenal. Then came the biggest talking point of the match. Arsenal gained possession in the final third after some good pressing, Martinelli fed Lacazette, who was brought down in the box by Coufal. Watching it live, it appeared as though Coufal got the ball, but Anthony Taylor, who sent off Victor Moses and Matteo Kovacic respectively for Chelsea in our 2017 and 2020 FA Cup Final wins, pointed to the spot. Whilst the defender got some of the ball, much of his foot went over the ball which caused him to bring down Lacazette on the follow through. Perhaps if it were given against us, we would feel aggrieved, but we\u2019ve certainly seen penalties go against us for far lesser offenses. After being booked very early in the game, the Czech Republic international was given his marching orders for a second yellow. Lacazette himself, stepped up to take it in the absence of Aubameyang. The Frenchman had never missed a penalty for Arsenal. Well, he has now. Fabianski guessed right and saved well from the striker. Fun fact: Arsenal have won three penalties this season and they\u2019ve missed all three. However, thankfully, all these missed penalties have come in games we\u2019ve gone on to win. But maybe we should find a new penalty taker anyway. Lacazette held his head in his hands. Would that miss prove costly for Arsenal? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final twenty minutes had an unusual dynamic to them. Whilst West Ham were down to ten men, they were a goal down and the onus was partly on them to go forward to get anything out of the game. Arsenal were caught in two minds as whether to hold what they had or to use their numerical advantage to put the game beyond doubt. West Ham began to have more possession but to little effect as the likes of Antonio and Lanzini were largely nullified by a resolute and determined Arsenal defence. Emile Smith-Rowe had been brought on for \u00d8degaard to give Arsenal more energy in the final third. The Gunners nearly put the game beyond doubt when Tierney fed Martinelli who pulled it back for Saka, whose goal-bound effort was deflected wide by Issa Diop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the game was finally put beyond any doubt in the 87th<\/sup> minute. Tomiyasu tussled for the ball with Said Benrahma, winning the battle and allowing Saka to go on another run. He then played in the energetic Smith Rowe who cut inside on his \u201cweaker\u201d left foot and drilled a low effort into the bottom near corner, doubling Arsenal\u2019s money and sealing a huge three points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Arsenal\u2019s win sees them finally break into the top 4 for the first time this season, leapfrogging the Hammers in the process. Due to Covid, both Spurs and United have games in hand (United have one, Spurs have three) but points in a bag are better than potential points in a bag. That\u2019s two excellent home victories in the space of four days, scoring five goals, conceding none. Now we just need to sort out that pesky away form. We will have an opportunity to do that at Dirty Leeds on Saturday evening before our attentions turn to a Carabao Cup quarter final against a third division side who have triple the number of league titles as Spurs, in the shape of Sunderland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onwards and upwards. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arsenal moved into the top four for the first time this season with a dynamic 2-0 victory over rivals West Ham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening. Much of the pre-match build up was centred around Pierre Emerick Aubameyang being stripped of the captaincy after his latest breach of Arteta\u2019s non-negotiables. However, much like the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4392"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4399,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4392\/revisions\/4399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}