It was an excellent game by the Gunners who got revenge for Watford knocking them out of the FA Cup laat week and took advantage of Tottenham’s draw against Liverpool and move just 4 points behind Spurs who have played one more game than Arsenal. It was a well-deserved win for Wenger’s side who dominated the game and created a lot more opportunities to score than the actual result shows. Alex Iwobi was without a doubt the man of the match managing an assist, a goal and one or two excellent shots what with a bit of luck, could have easily gone in.
Here is what the Nigerian youngster had to say after the game: “It’s crazy, a mad feeling. When you’re young, you dream of this and this is like a dream come true, winning with this team. Winning the title would be amazing but we’re taking each game as it comes, game by game, and we will see where we end up come the end of the season.” According to the BBC, Wenger was also very pleased with the youngster’s performance as he was with the overall team’s performance: “I am very happy because it was a good performance. We scored goals and didn’t concede, and kept the game having a good flow even at 3-0 up. I am pleased with Alex Iwobi’s talent but even more with his attitude and his willingness to learn and to contribute with his teamwork.”
Alexis Sanchez is also worth mentioning as he put the Gunners ahead just 4 minutes into the game. All the players sent on pitch looked good maybe except Welbeck who despite a great performance for England, failed to make his presence noticeable. We could attribute his lack of form to fatigue as he just returned from international duty.
Bellerin scored the 3rd goal and seems to be on an ascending trend. The Spaniard who exploded this season has been involved in 4 goals in his past 3 Premier League clashes and is expected to become even better next season. Hopefully he will stay away from injury.
Here’s the ratings for how all the other players performed in the accompanying graphic:
Arsenal now head to West Ham with excellent morale, a morale not many expected after the Barcelona game. If they manage to continue down the same path, they have a big chance of contesting Leicester for the Premier League title but they need the Foxes to slip up and so far Claudio Ranieri’s side have shown no sign of doing that. The sad news is that one of the reasons behind the Gunners’ last two performances may be related to their fatigue from missing key players like Cazorla who is so under-rated plus the youthful Wilshere who has been gone all season, not too mention Danny Welbeck who has come back and shown his worth to the team. Being under the pressure that came with the Champions League, the FA Cup and the title, was too much apparently. Hopefully something will be done by next season. Some of the youngsters who shined this season should get the experience needed to perform with constant results next campaign plus surely the signing of a 20+ goals a season striker needs to be made.