Giroud late strike secure a glorious victory for Arsenal at the Emirate


Arsenal ended 2016 on a high as Olivier Giroud netted the winner four minutes from time in a 1-0 victory at home to West Brom on Boxing Day.

 Arsene Wenger's men led the Premier League on January 1 but it's been another 12 months of underachievement and this result epitomised that frustration up until Giroud's late winner on his first Premier League start of the season.

 Ben Foster starred for the resilient Baggies, making a string of saves early in the second half while Alexis Sanchez also struck the post for the hosts.

 The victory moves Arsenal, who had lost their two previous games, into third but they remain nine points behind Chelsea in the title race.

 Theo Walcott was missing for Arsenal with a slight calf strain, which handed Giroud a rare start.

 Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal had to be patient during their 1-0 victory over West Brom
He looked short of sharpness in and around the box early on as West Brom defended deep to snuff out Arsenal's intricate approach play.

 Sanchez warmed Foster's gloves from 22 yards on 26 minutes but rarely did they look capable of breaking through the well organised Baggies backline in the first-half, led manfully by the returning Jonny Evans.

 Matty Phillips provided much of the quality on show early on with his 21st minute cross being flicked straight at Petr Cech by Nacer Chadli.

 Arsenal came out of the blocks flying after the break and Foster had to be at his reactive best to deny Alex Iwobi's low drive and then Sanchez's close range follow up.
West Brom's Tony Pulis says he was disappointed for his players after they conceded a late winner to Arsenal
However, Foster was helpless 90 seconds later as Sanchez broke free in the box but his shot cannoned back off the outside of the post.

 It looked likely to be West Brom's day when Foster brilliantly tipped over a rasping Sanchez drive on 56 minutes.

 The visitors carried little threat but Claudio Yacob missed a glorius opportunity at the back post on 71 minutes when he fired high and wide after Cech spilled a corner. 

 There seemed no way through for the Gunners, who continued to probe but lacked a killer final ball against Tony Pulis' men who ran the clock down at every opportunity.

 Those tactics seemed to be paying off until Giroud repaid his manager's faith with three minutes left.

 Mesut Ozil curled a fantastic ball into the danger zone and Giroud held off the attentions of Evans before looping a clever header beyond the grasp of the defiant Foster.

 The Emirates collectively breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chelsea sign Bakayoko from Monaco for £40M

Image
Tiemoue Bakayoko has joined Chelsea from Monaco and become the club's second-most expensive signing of all time. Sky Sports News HQ understands the 22-year-old has cost the Blues £40m - some £10m less than Fernando Torres in 2011. Bakayoko, an athletic central midfielder, has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge and will join up with France international team-mate N'Golo Kante. Bakayoko said: "I have grown up watching Chelsea. Signing was the natural thing for me because it is a club I loved very much in my childhood. "I am now looking forward to evolving under this fantastic coach (Antonio Conte) and alongside so many great team-mates." Chelsea's technical director Michael Emenalo said: "Tiemoue was outstanding as Monaco emerged as one of Europe's best sides last season and we are delighted to welcome him to Chelsea. "Despite his young age he already has plenty of experience as a French title winner and having competed ...
Read more

Jose Gimenez's goal secured a late win for Uruguay against Egypt

Image
It’s another exciting atmosphere in Russia as Egypt take on Uruguay in a group A encounter. Uruguay dominated possession in the first 3 minutes of the opening stage of the first half. Caceres was put under pressure defensively but can’t keep the ball in play after tackle, though it shows Egypt are doing everything within their reach to limit the time Uruguay have on the ball. Egypt are starting to to enjoy the game after the early pressure from the Uruguay. Cavani look threatening to the Egypt defense with the first attempt of the game, firing a low shot from outside the box that El – Shenawy managed to keep out comfortably. Egypt have done great defensively as they’ve kept Uruguay silent and finding thir rhythm in attack. Egypt with their first attempt of the game as trezeguet forced Muslera into action for the first time. He chests the ball down to create some chance in the box but couldn’t get contact with the ball properly. Egypt are looking more dangerous on th...
Read more

Ronaldo on a rare run of goals and assists for Juventus

Image
The Portuguese star is on a rare run of getting goals and assists, after pulling it off against Parma, Sassuolo and Frosinone Cristiano Ronaldo proved his importance to Juventus once again as he scored and assisted in a match for the third time in a row on Friday. The 34-year-old helped fire the Serie A leaders to a 3-0 win over Frosinone when he set Paulo Dybala up for the opening goal and then netted his side's third in the second half. Having also notched goals and assists against Parma and Sassuolo in the previous two league games, he is on a rare run of form of playing the dual role of scorer and provider for the defending champions. It is the second time in the 33-year-old's career that he has scored and set up goals in three games in a row. The last time he put such run together was in November 2014, when he was still with Real Madrid. Ronaldo's 19th goal extends his lead at the top of the Serie A goal chart, while he now has made the joint-most ass...
Read more