Arsenal 3-1 West Ham - Per Mertesacker works for Starfleet

Morning,


Isn't life just happier and better after a win? First of all I consider myself in the "Bad Fan" category this weekend as I thought it was a 3pm kick-off....but onto the game.

What you think you're going to get from a Sam Allardyce team is usually what you get from a Sam Allardyce team and that's power, fight and restarts and that's exactly what we got. The first half was typical, vintage, lovely Arsenal in the fact we looked classy and composed without looking like we were going to score only to be undone by one moment of genius from West Ham's best player Mohamed Diame.

Diame tucked up Ramsey with a lovely piece of footwork before drawing Per Mertesacker into the "Do I block or stand off?" decision of which he did neither, his finish curled into the top corner beyond Vito Mannone was a thing of delight, but could we get back into this?

I like Olivier Giroud and not just because he is ridiculously handsome, he's a nuisance to defenders and you can see how hard he's trying to impress and he gives it everything he has which as a fan, you cannot be anything but impressed with. However he hasn't got the memo that Arsenal players don't usually attack the six-yard box as his goal proved, lung-busting run at just the right time to flick beyond Jussi to equalise.

I'd of taken a point at this stage, I think it was important not to lose this game after what happened at Chelsea and the patchy performance midweek, Arteta was metronomic again, Cazorla hopped, skipped and jumped his way through midfield but more was to come, Giroud's throughball was calmly, slotted home by Walcott (YES, I KNOW!) and the only sensation more bizarre than watching him slot one in was watching him run through and not worry about it, I knew he'd score. Theo Walcott is the anti-Gervinho

The third goal was just class. There was only one moment of Hammer Time! in the whole game and it wasn't from a claret and blue, it was the tenacity of Walcott to poke the ball to the Spanish Wizard who just wrapped his left round the ball and it whizzed past Jussi. Game over. Job done.

Annoyed at the fact it's an Interlull now but with Mertesacker looking tired and a knock for Gibbs, it may just come at the right time.


Things we learnt:

Per Mertesacker works for Starfleet - He has the uncanny ability to halt Thomas Vermaelen from charging up the field, clearly the man has possession of a tractor-beam and works on the sly for Starfleet

Theo Walcott is the Anti-Gervinho - Coolness and calmness personified with his goal.


And.....Olivier Giroud will be fine - It's annoyed me how many people have had to come out in defence of OG since he's joined. The guy is finding his feet and actually is a very important part of the squad, he is a nuisance, and very empathetic in his build-up play resulting in how often he's involved in goals this season. Let's hope this is the first of many Premier League goals.