West Ham 1 Arsenal 2
Diamanti 45+2 Ramsey 78, Eduardo 83
Stoke v Arsenal in the FA Cup Fourth Round?
An interesting challenge, if Arsenal are interested by then.
Sunday’s game started badly, continued badly, but ended well.
Arsenal kept passing the ball into crowded areas and created nothing in the first half.
Jack Wilshere had a nightmare on the right side of a 4-3-3 and three-yard passes were never going to create good shooting positions.
Arsenal played a high line as often as they could against West Ham’s energetic hustling but the high line came unstuck when Kovak pushed the ball through between Vermaelen and Silvestre, and the left back jumped forward, leaving Diamanti onside. A left-footed forward, Diamonti accelerated straight towards the middle of the penalty area, so that he could shoot either side of Fabianski, and slotted with a shot that the Pole touched.
1-0 to West Ham at half-time.
Second half, Arsenal improved a bit, then improved a lot when Nasri and Diaby replaced Wilshere and Merida.
It was still one-dimensional, with far too many short passes into crowded areas, but they got a lucky break.
When Vela’s two-yard pass broke back of a defender, his second pass found Ramsey’s run and the Welsh teenager finished with a fine left-foot shot across Rob Green and just inside the post.
As I noted last week, Ramsey is two-footed and can score goals.
After that, Arsenal were always going to win as the relegation-threatened Hammers ran out of steam.
When Vela crossed from the left, Eduardo scored with a pre-Birmingham header. The type of beautifully-timed header that made him Croatia’s ace goalscorer.
Eduardo needed that kind of goal. He looked as if he had lost his nerve but he might be on the way back.
But Arsenal badly need a striker with pace and power, who can make runs for Fabregas and give Arshavin a few yards to play in.
Who will it be? Hope we find out soon. Patience has never been one of my virtues.
WEST HAM (4-4-2): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Daprela; Diamanti, Kovac, Behrami, Stanislas (Edgar, 87); Jimeenz, Nouble (Sears, 76). Subs not used: Stech (gk), Da Costa, Payne, Lee, N’Gala.
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Fabianski; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre; Ramsey, Song, Merida (Diaby, 65); Wilshere (Nasri, 65), Vela, Eduardo. Subs not used: Mannone (gk), Traore, Eastmond, Emmanuel-Thomas, Gilbert.
Booked: Daprela, Song.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Won’t be Reffing the FA Cup Final).
Crowd : 25,549.