Arsenal vs West Ham: The Heart of Champions

It  is always a wonder how mediocre opposition goalkeepers suddenly come to life and produce the match of their year at the Emirates. Time and time again, in the past we have seen great performances from Heurelho Gomez, Brad Friedel and Robert Green all who can be great in one match and dismal in another, choose to have a great one at the Emirates.  On Saturday, Green again choose to be his brilliant best against the Gunners.

If not for him, this match would have been a stroll in the park and we would have added to our impressive goals tally. I counted no less than 6 great saves from the English international, denying Fabregas, Song, Nasri and Walcott clear opportunities at goal. When he was beaten, the woodwork came to his rescue. It was one of those day which everything turned against us. In the past, West Ham would probably have gone right up the other end and nicked a goal but this time we stood firm.

Arsene Wenger, in his post match interview hit it right on the spot when he said the difference this time was that we did not make silly mistakes at the back. The return of Koscielny to the heart of the defence really gave it a much stronger look and we remain solid at the back throughout the ninety minutes. Uncharacteristically, this is Arsenal’s third clean sheet in a row.

Overall, we again showed a gusty display, not giving up when the going was tough. The key to the attack was patience and variety and that was what we showed. The lad played with passion and maturity to vary their attack and continue to probe even at the death, rather than just going for speculative shots or crosses. Unlike previous occasions, we also did not over commit overselves with the two centrebacks holding the fort while leaving the attacking to the others.

Personally I felt it was a matured display and showed how we have improved over the years. As we step into the dreaded month of November, I hope we can continue to show the heart of champions throughout the match.