Arsenal move up Premier League table
Arsenal defeat West Brom to move up the EPL Table on Monday
Match Report
Arsenal 2-0 West Brom Albion
Arsenal goals: Alexandre Lacazette 20, 67 (pen)
On Monday evening, giant England Premier League club Arsenal moved up on the EPL Table after defeating West Brom 2-0 at home with two goals from new signing and new fan favorite Alexandre Lacazette who scored the opening goal at 20 minutes with a stunning header. French international Lacazette has gotten off to a great start in his career at the Emirates. Lacazette who has scored four goals in his first three home games for Arsenal, scored he second goal of the clash at 67 minutes with a deadly accurate penalty shot. Arsenal superstar goalkeeper Petr Cech gets credit for a clean sheet. With five wins in a row, Arsenal appears to have turned their current season around just in time to stop the criticism of fans about squad decisions. Arsenal have enjoyed five unbeaten matches now, and desire and momentum building on the Gunners' side. Lacazette's first goal was a header - a poacher's effort after Alexis Sanchez's attempt struck the bar from a free-kick. Lacazette's second was a penalty spot after Aaron Ramsey was bundled over.
Arsenal deserved all three points, after surviving two huge let offs. Gunners goalie Petr Cech survived two attempts from West Broms Jay Rodriguez who made an amazing fingertip save and Nacho Monreal cleared off the line during the exciting first half. The first shot at goal of the match was by superstar striker Alexis Sanchez who was back in the starting lineup. Sanchez's direct free-kick went wide and fizzed. Arsenal survived their first let off in the opening 10 minutes. According to Arsenal.com, "Shkodran Mustafi mistimed his tackle on Rodriguez inside the area, but rather than give the penalty, the referee allowed play on as Rodriguez picked himself up and fired goalwards. Cech dived to his left and made a fantastic low save to flick the ball onto the post, and Jake Livermore scuffed the rebound wide". Mohamed Elneny was fouled, Alexis curled his free-kick against the bar, and Lacazette scored from close range putting Arsenal ahead 1-0. Then Sanchez struck another free-kick wide as the Gunners put the Baggies defense under increased pressure. Just before the break, Monreal made a spectacular, acrobatic clearance to prevent Rodriguez heading West Brom level.
Arsenal took to the pitch in the second half full of intent, and Lacazette doubled the lead from the penalty spot from 12 yards. Wenger brought on Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud for the final few minutes. Lacazette's Arsenal teammate Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka is already really impressed with the football skills his new team-mate has displayed at the Emirates and has given him a new challenge for away games according to Arsenal.com. “He’s an important player for us,“ said Xhaka. “We know his qualities and you can see that he’s ice-cold in front of goal. Now he needs to do the same away - then I’ll be really pleased. I think the game against Chelsea gave us morale and self-belief,” added Xhaka. “We gave a good performance against West Brom, kept another clean sheet, which is really important for us and we’re satisfied with the 2-0 scoreline. I think with these fans behind us, we can play with freedom. At home we’re a force, you’ve seen that in the past and today, and we’re pleased to have won at home. We need to make sure we do the same away from home.” Clearly Arsenal deserved the victory in the hard fought battle against West Brom who missed a good chance in the first half. Jay Rodriguez almost equalised for the Baggies just before half-time, but Arsenal's Nacho Montreal raced back before clearing the ball from underneath his own crossbar to stop the goal from happening.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game but I think we played better than them, we scored two goals and in every moment we had the control. They only had one chance in the first half but I was so lucky to be in the right position at the right moment. After that, we were better than them. It was hard but we played a good game," said Montreal after the match win. "It wasn’t only me. I think all the players are in a good moment, we had a good performance against Chelsea in a difficult game, so after we got one point against Chelsea we needed to get the three points today, to keep in the top positions. We have to continue playing like that. Now we play in the Europa League, after that it’s Brighton, so we are looking forward to winning the next two games." Do not miss out on the action as the Gunners battle for a top finish in the Premier League and Europa League! Buy all Arsenal football tickets now online from 1st4FootballTickets.com! "Obviously every single game we try to get a clean sheet. It’s not easy because in the Premier League, anybody can score in any moment," added Montreal. "But in the last games we’ve had clean sheets, which means that all the team are working really hard defensively. We have to keep doing that."
Veteran Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was obsiously delighted with his side after their performance against the Baggies. Although Alexandre Lacazette scored the match-winning brace, both Mohamed Elneny and Nacho Monreal also were key in the hard-fought win. Wenger spoke to Arsenal Media after the game about the contribution Elneny and Monreal, and also the growing partnership between Alexis Sanchez and Lacazette. "The first half was quite even and West Brom played quite well. They were very physical, very well organised as they usually are. Overall we were maybe lucky in one special circumstance, but we were 1-0 up at half-time and in the second half we controlled the game well and I think we deserved to win," said Wenger. "Yes, he has found confidence and I believe he is adapting quickly to the demands of the Premier League. I think it's quite positive. Now he has to score away from home, but he was unlucky as well away to Stoke I must say. Overall it's a good sign that he keeps scoring at home," added Wenger about Lacazette. Wenger was next asked to comment on Lacazette's partnership with Alexis Sanchez. "Both of them can score goals, both of them can give assists so I expect a positive response from them on that. We work on the partnership in training of course, but the best way is to play together in competitive circumstances, so I believe that will come very quickly," replied Wenger.
Wenger continued his praise of Monreal and Elneny. "They were outstanding, both of them. I am pleased for both of them of course, but especially for Elneny because he has not always played, but what he did tonight was very positive. The two of them are top players who have a fantastic mentality," added Wenger. "Yes, and I believe you see that we are much stable defensively now. At the start of the season we conceded too many goals, and you have no hope if you always concede goals, and on that front we have stabilized very well." Going into England Premier League Match Week 7, Manchester City is in first with 16 points, Manchester United also has 16 points, Chelsea has 13 points, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Watford each has 11 points, and Arsenal has 10 points. The Gunners next face BATE Borisov in the Europa League and Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League. Buy the very best legal, guaranteed Arsenal tickets for all Gunners football games now securely online from 1st4FootballTickets.com!