Arsene Wenger: 'We had a committed and united performance. We knew we needed to be good in the air, and we were'

Published: 29 December, 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

Premier League
WEST HAM 1, ARSENAL 2

ARSENE Wenger praised his side for the “combination of class and resilience” they showed to grind out a hard-fought victory at Upton Park on Sunday.

Santi Cazorla put the Gunners ahead from the penalty spot before Danny Welbeck added a second as the visitors struck twice in four minutes at the end of the first half.

Cheikhou Kouyate’s 54th-minute header gave the Hammers hope of salvaging something from the game, but Wenger’s side did enough to take all three points.

“We had a committed and united performance,” said the Arsenal manager. “We knew we needed to be good in the air, and we were.

“We scored a good second goal and had many opportunities to score another, but their goalkeeper made some good saves.”

“At 2-1 I knew the last 30 minutes would be difficult,” added Wenger. “But we dug deep.

“The win was down to consistency and we are slowly getting there.”  

Former Gunner Alex Song thought he had given West Ham the perfect start when he smashed home a brilliant 25-yard volley just minutes into the match. But the effort was ruled out for offside – a seemingly harsh decision as no West Ham player touched the ball on its way past Wojciech Szczesny.

Even Wenger admitted afterwards that he thought Song’s effort should have stood. “I don’t know why Alex Song’s goal didn’t stand, I thought it would,” he said.

Arsenal took full advantage of that fortune in the 41st minute when Cazorla scored from the spot after being fouled in the box by Winston Reid.

They doubled their lead minutes later courtesy of a neat finish from Welbeck, who slid the ball into the net from close range after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s low cross from the right.

West Ham reduced the deficit through Kouyate, but it was Arsenal who should have scored the fourth goal of the afternoon as they created the better chances.

Hammers goalkeeper Adrian made sure the game finished 2-1 as he brilliantly denied Alexis Sanchez and Oxlade-Chamberlain late on.

ARSENAL: Szczesny, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Chambers, 90), Cazorla, Welbeck (Gibbs, 85), Sanchez.
Subs not used: Ospina, Podolski, Walcott, Campbell, Akpom.
Attendance: 34,977.