Arsenal
After the storm, the calm. An unspectacular yet entirely satisfactory three points enabled Arsenal to breathe easily again at the end of a turbulent week. There was no collective bloody nose this time, just the broken one suffered by Francis Coquelin when Olivier Giroud clattered into him. The sense of Arsenal as a team being desperate to react to adversity was summed up by Coquelin staying on to do his blocking and harrying job with a smashed-up face. “I am very proud of the response we showed,” Arsène Wenger said.
Although Everton engineered a few close shaves, decisive moments by the players at both of Arsenal’s sharp ends made the difference. Giroud, who had endured the kind of striker’s nightmare that forced Wenger to remove him from the spotlight during the Champions League defeat in midweek, showed the character to climb straight back on to the horse. His persistence was rewarded with the opener. In goal David Ospina needed a mix of determination and improvisation to maintain the welcome platform of a clean sheet.
The need to address both goalmouths was obvious after the European lesson handed out by Monaco. It was unhelpful, therefore, for the first big moment of the game to bring to mind Wenger’s lament about “suicidal defending”.
The game hinged on a period midway through the first half during which Gabriel Paulista, the centre-back newly arrived from La Liga, was confronted with the full power of Romelu Lukaku. In the first instance the defender dithered, let the ball bounce and Arsenal hearts jumped into mouths awaiting another calamity as Ospina rushed out to meet Lukaku. The keeper was brave to paw at the ball and then slide tackle to avert disaster twice. “That could have been a completely different story … ” Roberto Martínez said.
The next time Lukaku bore dangerously into the penalty area Gabriel showed impeccable defensive instincts to pluck the ball from him. The energy around the place changed as the home crowd were visibly lifted by the saving tackle.
Over to Giroud. After his serial profligacy against Monaco he missed his first chance, steering wide Alexis Sánchez’s pinpoint cross. Wenger believes wholeheartedly in the striker’s capacity to keep going. Redemption arrived – and how Giroud enjoyed it with a celebratory flourish as he pointed to the heavens – when he shrugged off John Stones to steer in Arsenal’s opening goal from a corner.
“Arsène Wenger gave me the possibility to bounce back. We wanted to do that together,” Giroud said.
Wenger was delighted: “Olivier has one great quality. When his back is to the wall he has the personality to respond. Because I know him better now that is one of the reasons why I kept him in the team. He acknowledged he missed his game and I knew he had the strength to respond.”
Everton were far more threatening in the second half, immediately challenging Arsenal with a string of set pieces. Ospina needed to be alert to repel Lukaku and the substitute Aaron Lennon. Then Gabriel arrived with another strong tackle to block off the arriving Ross Barkley.
Everton’s frustration is that they could not make those chances count. The result was confirmed in the penultimate minute. Phil Jagielka, who had intervened twice at key moments to fall on to a Giroud effort and then deflect a Mesut Özil shot, was in the way when Tomas Rosicky let fly. The ball ricocheted off the Everton captain and into the net. The goal marked the second assist of the day for Özil.
“You read the 2-0 scoreline but it doesn’t reflect the game and that’s the story of our season,” Martínez said. “We have had to be perfect to win games and that is something we have to change in the next 11 games. We are in the final third of season, everyone fighting for same thing - to get 40 points – then to get the next aim.”
Giroud could have scored again with a firm downward header which veered wide but with the points safe there was no need for howls of frustration. Having sprinted off the pitch against Monaco as if he could not get away quick enough, this time he enjoyed some much-needed applause in the sunshine.
Man of the match David Ospina (Arsenal)
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