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Arsene Wenger wanted a reaction from his Arsenal side and — oh boy — did he get it.
One point from a possible nine, including two defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea, has left the manager pondering life without Champions League football next season.
But sixth-placed Arsenal closed the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham to four points, thanks mostly to an incredible spell of four goals in 12 second-half minutes. All that after Jack Collison handed West Ham a shock lead to leave Wenger fearing the worst once again.
Brace yourself: Olivier Giroud scored two goals in ten minutes as Arsenal ran riot at the Emirates
MATCH FACTS
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen (Koscielny 57), Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud (Oxlade-Chamberlain 73), Podolski (Andre Santos 70).
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Arshavin, Jenkinson, Frimpong.
Goals: Podolski 22, Giroud 47, Cazorla 53, Walcott 54, Giroud 57.
West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid (Diarra 62), O'Brien, Noble, Nolan, Collison (Potts 62), Taylor, Carlton Cole, Vaz Te (Diame 70).
Subs Not Used: Henderson, Jarvis, Joe Cole, O'Neil.
Booked: Vaz Te.
Goals: Collison 18.
Attendance: 60,081
Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
There will be sterner tests for Arsenal in their attempts to overtake Spurs in the race for fourth - but they showed rolling over is not an option.
‘We got what we wanted, a good response,’ said Wenger. ‘I thought it was an interesting test for us. We kept going but I could not predict we would score five goals.
‘We showed some great quality in our creative and combination play. The players now know how important these games are, but sometimes I feel we play a little inhibited. ‘But this team has fantastic quality and mentality and we want to show that between now and the end of the season.’
There was one glaring omission in the West Ham side with Momo Diame only named on the bench.
Maybe it was a purposeful ploy by the manager Sam Allardyce’s to deprive Wenger of a front-row view of the player ahead of a potential £3.5million January switch.
But West Ham looked like they missed Diame’s presence as Arsenal made a confident start, with Theo Walcott’s blistering pace causing problems from the outset.
Unconscious: There were 12 minutes of injury time at the Emirates after a collision involving Danny Potts
There were worrying moments for Arsenal in the seventh minute as Jack Collison mistimed a tackle and stamped heavily on Jack Wilshere’s right ankle. There was an uncomfortable silence at the Emirates as Wilshere, who missed all of last season through injury, writhed in pain on the ground.
Thankfully, he rose to his feet.
On target: Santi Cazorla popped up with the third goal for Arsenal after 53 minutes
But the good news was short-lived for Arsenal as they fell behind in the 18th minute as Collison hammered home from the edge of the box from Matt Taylor’s corner.
It was a poignant moment for Collison, his first goal since a seven month lay-off with a knee injury and he celebrated by running straight over to physio Andy Rolls.
All smiles: Lukas Podolski equalised for the Gunners after 22 minutes at the Emirates Stadium
However, West Ham’s joy lasted four minutes as Arsenal equalised with a Lukas Podolski 20-yard piledriver that flew past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Santi Cazorla went close for Arsenal with a curling free-kick on the stroke of half-time but the Spaniard would not rue his missed opportunity as the Gunners went on an early second half rampage.
On target: Theo Walcott found the back of the net again for Arsenal on Wednesday night
'Sign da ting': Walcott and Podolski celebrate the former's goal against West Ham
First Olivier Giroud put Arsenal in front two minutes after the restart, simply poking home unmarked at the near post from Walcott’s corner. Six minutes later Cazorla beat Jussi Jaaskelainen after mesmerising interplay between Podolski and Giroud.
Wenger’s men were not done, this time Walcott firing home Podolski’s low cross after the German had sprung West Ham’s offside trap 60 seconds later. Arsenal completed their storming second-half opening in the 52nd minute as Giroud slotted home his second from another Podolski assist.
Perfect start: Jack Collison fires home for West Ham but the away side were unable to maintain their lead
Allardyce said: ‘It was a horrible 12 minutes for us and a brilliant 12 minutes for them. Sometimes you can’t live with the opposition when they are in top form. We gave them the impetus after conceding a poor goal from a corner after half-time but things were going relatively comfortable for us before then.’
Diame was introduced with 20 minutes left to play, to ironic cheers from Arsenal fans, aware he could soon be wearing a red shirt. There were worrying moments for substitute Dan Potts late in the game as he needed lengthy treatment after a clash of heads with Sagna. West Ham finished with 10 men having used all three substitutes
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2267249/Arsenal-5-West-Ham-1-match-report.html#ixzz2IrVhx21H
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