4 Things Learned From Arsenal’s 1-0 Win Over QPR

Arsenal held on to beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at Loftus Road on Saturday evening. Here, ‘Gooner333’ looks at 4 things we learn’t from the game.

Arsenal went to Loftus Road ready to play an already relegated QPR side. Another win would move the Gunners ever closer to Champions League football next season and with the final two fixtures against sides battling against relegation, this game was a must win. Arsene Wenger stuck with Wojciech Szczesny in between the sticks and forgotten midfielder Francis Coquelin was on the bench.

The Gunners certainly didn’t take long to make an impact, with Theo Walcott opening the scoring with just 20 seconds on the clock – which was the fastest goal of the season – when Mikel Arteta sent him clear with a neat through ball.

Arsenal almost added a second when Walcott again fired a shot at goal but this time Green pulled a great save  out of the bag to tip his effort onto the post. Nothing to write home about in the later stages of the first half but both teams still looked lively in the game. Loic Remy had the main chance for the Hoops but the Frenchman was matched by Szczesny’s excellent save late on in the second half.

Full time and yet again the north London side collected another valuable 3 points to strengthen chances of European football next season. I will now look over what went well and what we can learn from the game.

1. Consistency is Key

Our form of late has been outstanding. Just like last season we are stringing together some vital results at the perfect point of the season. This victory makes it six wins and two draws in the eight league games since we lost to Spurs. We are grinding out results week after week and this is something which will surely play an important part going into the final two games.

2. We can rely on Theo

After the sale of RVP, Arsenal fans could be forgiven for wondering where the goals would come from this season and although he’s had a minor dip in form recently, Theo Walcott has stepped up and scored his 13th Premier League goal of the season on Saturday. These goals alone aren’t going to put us in the top four every season though, so a frontman is still required.

3. Our discipline is good

Whether we do get Champions league football or not, Gunners fans can all be proud of our fantastic disciplinary record this season. Perhaps it hasn’t always been a feature of Arsenal FC but we currently sit 3rd in the disciplinary table with the least amount of yellow cards picked up this season (39). Usually the discipline of a team is overlooked but by playing in this way and channeling our frustration into playing rather than making daft tackles, we are at a lot less risk of giving away penalties or dangerous set-pieces.

4. Wenger knows what he’s doing

He has been put under the magnifying glass far too much by some in recent years, and despite whatever you have to say about him, Arsene Wenger has always delivered Champions League football to the club and looks on course to do the same once again. Not only has he got results but he has stuck to his own philosophy and has resisted the temptation to splash the cash and put the club at risk. With rumours of our main man going to PSG coming out these past few weeks, Arsenal fans may be left ruing the day when Wenger does eventually leave. We need to be grateful for what we’ve got.

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