Arsenal 2 - 0 West Ham
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:51 pmArsenal 2 – 0 West Ham
On a weekend when Chelsea and Manchester United were not playing til the following day Arsenal had the chance to sit atop the premier league for at least 24 hours if they could manage a win against a hammers side languishing just outside the relegation zone.
A great start for the team came on just 5 minutes when after some lovely play Denilson exchanged passes with Bendtner before shaping up to shoot and score in the bottom corner past Robert Green. Arsenal had a good first half despite not troubling Green a massive amount, the passing was fluid and we managed to put many balls into the box even if there wasn’t always someone on the end to attempt a shot. West Hams best chance of the first half hour came shortly after Denilsons goal when Diamantis free kick narrowly headed over Almunias goal. Despite this, Arsenal dominated possession and Song in particular was magnificent both with his intelligent passing and some fantastic tackles that stopped West Ham before they even troubled our back line.
Shortly before the break things changed however. Vermaelen adjudged to bring down Franco in the penalty box received his marching orders. Was it a penalty? I can’t say, I thought Vermaelen would have been lucky if he had got away with it but gooners round me seemed more incensed with the referees decision, I’ll reserve judgement til I see it again on MOTD! Diamanti stepped up to take the penalty but Almunia correctly guessed the right way and pushed the ball aside before gathering it at the second attempt thus redeeming himself somewhat after a few poor performances this season. Had that gone in who knows what the outcome could have been. A turning point perhaps?
After half time the hammers were lively as the rain started coming down, having their best spell of the game, not troubling Almunia very much but leaving me and others around me with highly increased heart rates as they piled on the pressure. Song had now dropped back to CB and continued having a stormer of a game, Campbell also generally played very well and was unlucky not to score in the 2nd half. We soaked up the pressure and after 20 minutes or so the game settled back into a more even encounter with Fabregas going close with a free kick, Sols header saved and Denilsons shot deflected wide. McCarthy was bought on by West Ham and instantly had an impact hitting the post with a shot having beaten Almunia.
Ten minutes to go and we got the cushion we wanted and needed. Upson handled in the area and Cesc buried yet another penalty confidently, sending the keeper the wrong way. The Arsenal fans – very quiet til now (not even responding to West hams statement of “we hate Tottenham more then you”) suddenly found their voices and raised the roof announcing we were top of the league and as the final whistle went – we are! Til tomorrow at least…
On a weekend when Chelsea and Manchester United were not playing til the following day Arsenal had the chance to sit atop the premier league for at least 24 hours if they could manage a win against a hammers side languishing just outside the relegation zone.
A great start for the team came on just 5 minutes when after some lovely play Denilson exchanged passes with Bendtner before shaping up to shoot and score in the bottom corner past Robert Green. Arsenal had a good first half despite not troubling Green a massive amount, the passing was fluid and we managed to put many balls into the box even if there wasn’t always someone on the end to attempt a shot. West Hams best chance of the first half hour came shortly after Denilsons goal when Diamantis free kick narrowly headed over Almunias goal. Despite this, Arsenal dominated possession and Song in particular was magnificent both with his intelligent passing and some fantastic tackles that stopped West Ham before they even troubled our back line.
Shortly before the break things changed however. Vermaelen adjudged to bring down Franco in the penalty box received his marching orders. Was it a penalty? I can’t say, I thought Vermaelen would have been lucky if he had got away with it but gooners round me seemed more incensed with the referees decision, I’ll reserve judgement til I see it again on MOTD! Diamanti stepped up to take the penalty but Almunia correctly guessed the right way and pushed the ball aside before gathering it at the second attempt thus redeeming himself somewhat after a few poor performances this season. Had that gone in who knows what the outcome could have been. A turning point perhaps?
After half time the hammers were lively as the rain started coming down, having their best spell of the game, not troubling Almunia very much but leaving me and others around me with highly increased heart rates as they piled on the pressure. Song had now dropped back to CB and continued having a stormer of a game, Campbell also generally played very well and was unlucky not to score in the 2nd half. We soaked up the pressure and after 20 minutes or so the game settled back into a more even encounter with Fabregas going close with a free kick, Sols header saved and Denilsons shot deflected wide. McCarthy was bought on by West Ham and instantly had an impact hitting the post with a shot having beaten Almunia.
Ten minutes to go and we got the cushion we wanted and needed. Upson handled in the area and Cesc buried yet another penalty confidently, sending the keeper the wrong way. The Arsenal fans – very quiet til now (not even responding to West hams statement of “we hate Tottenham more then you”) suddenly found their voices and raised the roof announcing we were top of the league and as the final whistle went – we are! Til tomorrow at least…
