Match Report: Arsenal Hold Their Nerve to Move Top of the Table
As Arsenal strived to end a hugely successful week on a high, they welcomed an Everton side looking to bounce back. Either team endured contrasting fortunes over the last seven days, with the Gunners landing back-to-back wins over Watford and Bayern Munich, while the Toffees hoped to put a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United behind them. The visiting Everton fans unsurprisingly sold out their allocation for the trip south, but their unwavering support in the the capital's relentless rain counted for little in a 2-1 loss.
Arsene Wenger's side rapidly established their dominance and were finally rewarded for their efforts with a quick-fire double as the clock ticked towards half time. First, Olivier Giroud nodded in Mesut Özil's inswinging cross before Laurent Koscielny headed Santi Cazorla's free-kick past the flailing Tim Howard. Özil's assist means he now has 7 for the season, more than any other Premier League player, and came after the German was moved to the right. Struggling to make his mark on the game, the decision to pull out wide reaped immediate benefits, but further highlighted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's inability to push on and stake a claim for a regular starting berth.
In the wake of Aaron Ramsey's hamstring injury sustained in the 2-0 win over Bayern, Oxlade-Chamberlain has been presented with the opportunity to capitalise on the Welshman's absence, yet failed to make the desired impact in a lackadaisical opening 45 minutes. His blocked shot when the marauding Hector Bellerin was in a much better position to receive the ball resulted in Ross Barkley going down the other end and halving the defecit prior to the interval, albeit via a huge deflection off Gabriel.
The goal handed the visitors with the chance to haul themselves back into the game and while it wasn't one they took, Oxlade-Chamberlain's poor performance in the opening exchanges both on and off the ball certainly left a lot to be desired. Up against compatriots Aaron Lennon and Brendan Galloway, the Arsenal wideman was often at a loss as to how to get the better of Everton's left side, particularly in the first half. Time and time again, the 22-year-old neglected his defensive responsibilities, meaning Lennon and Galloway were able to team up against Bellerin. The Spaniard sufficiently dealt with the threat, but on occasion was not helped by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
To the player's credit he upped his game for the second half, providing the offensive outlet Arsenal fans know he is capable of. However, Wenger has every right to demand more for Oxlade-Chamberlain over the coming weeks, though the Arsenal boss will have been buoyed by a much-improved second half showing from the youngster to contribute to a modest rating of 7.44, two key passes and four successful dribbles contributing to that. While Oxlade-Chamberlain's rejuvenated performance after the interval will have done him no favours, Giroud could do no wrong from the outset. The French striker came into the side at the expense of Theo Walcott and led the line with aplomb.
Following on from his bundled effort against Bayern on Tuesday night, Giroud opened the scoring - his third in his last three league outings against Everton - and he could well have added two more in the second half, first forcing Howard into action with a fine scissor-kick then rattling the crossbar with a little over 20 minutes remaining. A WhoScored rating of 8.33 was bettered only by man of the match Cazorla (8.53) and was a timely reminder of Giroud's qualities as the lone frontman in Wenger's 4-2-3-1 formation. The Arsenal boss has tended to utilise his compatriot's physical attributes as the opposition tires, with Walcott's pace a real asset when leading the attack from the first minute.
However, from the off Giroud proved just how capable a frontman he is, not allowing John Stones and Phil Jagielka a chance to settle. The Arsenal frontman won more aerial duels (4) than any other player on the pitch and Wenger will have been suitably impressed by a player fighting for his place in the starting XI. Nonetheless, it was one of his proven performers that won the plaudits and rightly so as Cazorla kept things ticking over in the middle of the park.
No player made more key passes (5) than Cazorla, while his four interceptions were bettered only by teammates Nacho Monreal and Francis Couqelin (both 5). Eight of the Spaniard's nine attempted long balls found an Arsenal player, while his pass success rate was a commendable 92.6% as Cazorla maintained his fine form in the Gunners midfield. The 30-year-old is Arsenal's highest rated player (7.87) after 10 league games this season and he needs to maintain his displays in the heart of the midfield if the north London side are to maintain their title charge.
The hosts were given numerous late scares as Romelu Lukaku saw a header bounce off the top of the bar late on, while Petr Cech was called into action of a number of occasions as the Premier League tie neared its climax. Nonetheless, Arsenal held their nerve to move to the summit of England's top tier ahead of tomorrow's Manchester Derby at Everton's expense to end "a perfect week" as Wenger described it after the full time whistle. The Toffees have now lost 22 of their last 29 league visits to Arsenal, with Gareth Barry's late red card effectively summing up another frustrating showing by Roberto Martinez's side.
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