Arsenal´s bid for a Top Four finish received a boost on Tuesday night as the Gunners overcame West Ham United 3-1 in a London Derby. The win came courtesy of a solid display at the Emirates Stadium as the club puts it recent poor form behind it.
This was certainly the most comfortable win for Arsene Wenger´s team in some time and now the club can concentrate on trying to get that all important Champions League place. Wenger´s men now move above Everton into fourth place, but the Merseyside club still has a game in hand. All Arsenal can do is keep winning and hope that Everton drop points somewhere in the final four games of the season.
Given the recent form of the Gunners, there were gasps and plenty of tension in the Emirates before kick-off. That air of worry got even worse when West Ham took the lead in the 40th minute. The Hammers took advantage of Kim Kallstrom failing to track Antonio Nocerino when the Italian supplied Matt Jarvis to head home. The goal came five minutes before halftime and filled the stadium with plenty of nerves, while Arsene Wenger was probably preparing another difficult team talk. Luckily the gaffer never had to give that talk as Arsenal responded in the 44th minute when Lukas Podolski drilled a low shot into the net to make it 1-1.
We suggested before the game that the linkup between Podolski and lone frontman Olivier Giroud would be key to success during the rest of the season. The duo proved that against West Ham as Giroud gave the Gunners the lead in the 55th minute with a stunning drag down and shot from a Thomas Vermaelen long ball.
Aaron Ramsey arrived to replace Thomas Rosicky, and the Welshman looked sharp on his road to recovery from an injury suffered in December. Ramsey was the architect of the third goal as he found Podolski with a cushioned header. The German controlled and fired the ball into the West Ham net to secure the three points and ease the tension inside the Emirates.