One-nil to the Arsenal has never felt better. After a first half that featured little drama and 79% possession from the home side, Ben Foster after the break had to make one save after another, some brave, some just very good. Arsenal crafted enough chances to give the home crowd hope, but West Brom's defenses were just up to the task. Then, in the 86th minute, Giroud got to a well-placed cross central and close to the edge of the 6 yard box just ahead of his marker, who was grabbing him to hold him back. Giroud showed great strength and composure to loop the header over Foster (who had to cover the entire goal) and into the upper right corner. It should have been 2-0 in stoppage time but it stayed 1-0.
Giroud started up top, and I like that decision. I know he's made an impact off the bench, but I think we get maximum value out of him when he bumps against the opponents' central defenders for 90 minutes. He wins headers, he runs back to break up the opponents' attacks, he passes well. By the end of the game, he can wear out two big defenders, and still has enough gas to put in a game-winner. I thought he was excellent today, though he could have opened the scoring some minutes earlier had he committed to attacking a cross that didn't look as though it would get through but did.
Alexis was moved wide left, and he was fantastic there. He did his usual things: dynamic dribbling, rasping shots that had to be tipped over the bar or that hit the post, clever interchanges, lots of defensive help, and the occasional misplaced pass. Iwobi was wide right, leaving Walcott off the field, which I think is great. Ozil was in the hole, and showed a greater work rate, but still didn't shine. (He did get the assist.) Coquelin had a super game alongside Xhaka, who also looked good. Bellerin was a little off today but it didn't matter in the end. Gabriel did his job and I hope is gaining confidence; Kos was once again a rock. Gibbs started and i thought he was quite good. But he ran into a defender in the second half and had to be replaced. Cech was seldom tested but passed those tests. Monreal did fine as a sub, and Perez and Ramsey were just OK as offensive subs. Aaron was set up beautifully by Alexis late on but his shot was too close to Foster in the center of the goal; Perez was one of the guys who could, I thought, have simply passed the ball into the net late into injury time but unaccountably did not.
Three points were an absolute requirement today, with Chelsea and United winning easily. WBA played pretty well but their total commitment to defense meant their scoring threat consisted mostly of trying to win corners. I didn't notice anything today that would indicate that this is an Arsenal squad that will be within reach of the leaders in April, but you never know. Chelsea could collapse.
I'd like to discuss the contract situations of Ozil, Sanchez, and Wenger, but I'll come back to that in a day or two. They are very much connected, to my mind.
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