[Player Ratings] Arsenal 5-1 West Ham: We Got our Arsenal Back!

That’s more like it! The first 20 minutes of the second half was the best football we’ve played this season. It was like watching the Arsenal of 2004. Fast, powerful and productive attacking football.

There was evidently more urgency in our play during the first half as well and we put together some excellent moves but just lacked that final ball. The opener was a little unlucky as it didn’t look like it should have been a corner, but Giroud’s headed clearance didn’t have enough power and fell straight to Collison who hammered home.

But West Ham’s lead didn’t last long as Lukas Podolski let fly with his lethal left foot from fully 25 yards and it flew like a rocket into the net. Stunning strike for 1-1. The German was then at the centre of things in a blistering opening to the second half as he, Walcott, Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski cut the Hammers to pieces.

The football was breathtaking at times and Giroud turned home a Walcott corner to put us ahead before Podolski bagged three assists in ten minutes, setting up Cazorla, Giroud and Walcott to put us 5-1 up with less than an hour on the clock. The game kind of fizzled out from there, understandably, but it was great to see us playing some stunning football again. Here are my ratings from the game:

Arsenal Ratings:

Szczesny – 6 – Could do little about Collison’s powerful strike and had little else to do really.

Sagna – 7 – Relatively untested down his wing and got forward to support when he could. Crossing still needs work though.

Mertesacker – 6 – Some wayward passing early on but dealt with the threat of Cole pretty well.

Vermaelen – 6 – Steady at the back but subbed off early in the second half after picking up a knock. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

Gibbs – 7.5 – Some excellent link-up play down the left and he made some excellent runs. Final ball was the only missing ingredient.

Wilshere – 7.5 – Everything went through Jack once again. He was driving us forward and creating chances. When he clicks with Cazorla special things happen.

Ramsey – 7.5 – Far more comfortable in the middle. Rambo had a good game, particularly in the first half. Great goal-line clearance to deny Cole was his highlight but was eventually over-shadowed by others in the second period.

Cazorla – 8 – Looked excellent on the ball and linked up well all over the pitch. Shooting was a little wayward but he was back to something like his best and took his goal well with a cheeky flick.

Walcott – 8 – Got past his man down the right a few times in the first half but couldn’t find a telling final ball. Was a huge threat in the second half as his pace helped tear the visitors apart. Excellent finish and could have had more.

Podolski – 8.5 – What a contribution from the German. Scored an absolute hammer of a goal and chipped in with 3 superb assists. When he’s in the mood he’s a very useful player. Best performance in a Gunners shirt IMO.

Giroud – 8 – Two lovely goals and some excellent link-up play from the big man made for a good nights work. He could have done better with his headed clearance that lead to their opener but we’ll forgive him for that. Showed some neat touches and his lovely pass over the top was key for the third goal.

Subs:

Santos – 5 – Little impact from the Brazilian.

Chamberlain – 7 – Lively cameo. Couple of nice runs down the right almost lead to more goals.

So we got our Arsenal back, let’s just hope we can push on from here and produce this kind of devastating attacking football on a regular basis.

If you haven’t seen the goals yet, check them out here. You won’t be disappointed!

What were your ratings from the game? Get involved in the comments section below.