Source: Telegraph
Arsenal 2 West Ham United 1: match report
Once disregarded as a work in progress, Arsenal cannot seem to stop making progress towards the dreamlike goal of a first championship in six years. [LNB]Scarcely credibly, they sit this morning at the summit of the Premier League table. Neither the games in hand for Manchester United and Chelsea, nor the fluidity of the title race, can diminish the scale of that accomplishment. [LNB]When Arsenal were beaten twice, convincingly, by Chelsea, the damage to Arsene Wenger's project was considered grievous. [LNB]Now the Frenchman, with his implausibly youthful team, can dare to envisage a triumph to eclipse even the moment when his class of 2004 lasted a whole season without defeat. [LNB]Fittingly, Sol Campbell, Arsenal's one remaining link to the 'Invincibles', enjoyed one of his best matches in recent memory, putting in the type of tireless shift to belie his 35 years. [LNB]The win, courtesy of a goal in each half for Denison and Cesc Fabregas, was tempered by the first-half dismissal of Thomas Vermaelen after he had brought down Guillermo Franco, even if the West Ham United forward's reaction was exaggerated. [LNB]Arsenal are likely to appeal against the ban, which could have an appreciable effect on their title chances if Vermaelen is out for than one game, given the continuing absence of fellow centre-back William Gallas with a calf injury. [LNB]It is a unfamiliar situation for Arsenal, among the Premier League's less cynical sides this season; indeed, this was their first red card of the campaign. [LNB]No wonder Arsenal's battle of the aesthetes against Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final is so keenly anticipated. [LNB]Their play, even when shackled by a highly defensive West Ham, was a study in prettiness, with Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin fashioning all manner of clever movement out wide to support Nicklas Bendtner. [LNB]Denison was the man to profit, exploiting West Ham's nervousness within five minutes. An abortive clearance fell straight to the Brazilian, who, after some deft interplay with Bendtner, laced a strike into the bottom-right corner beyond Robert Green's dive. [LNB]So much for Gianfranco Zola's intentions to close Arsenal down: this frantic start could not have been more open, with Bendtner escaping some woeful marking moments later to unleash a shot that swerved just inches wide. [LNB]Such was West Ham's toothlessness up front a forward pairing of Mido and Guillermo Franco could hardly ruffle even one as neurotic as Wenger that their main threat sprang from Alessandro Diamanti's fearsome free-kicks. [LNB]The Italian did not disappoint with his first party trick of the night, forcing Manuel Almunia to leap to cover a dipping 30-yard effort that flew fractionally over the Spanish goalkeeper's bar. [LNB]Arsenal, perhaps a touch exhausted by their explosive start, began to rein themselves in, subjecting West Ham to gentle probing rather than a more brutal filleting. [LNB]Arshavin was impressively evasive, dancing past Jonathan Spector and almost finding Bendtner with his cross. Emmanuel Eboué, once the recipient of constant invective from his own fans, continued his rehabilitation this season by ably supporting the Russian striker on the right. [LNB]The monopoly of possession was almost embarrassing. West Ham's only means of impeding wave upon wave of red-and-white attack was to toughen up their tackling, and Valon Behrami obliged with an agricultural slide from behind on Fabregas. [LNB]There were glimmers of a riposte, though, at least until Diamanti inexplicably decided not to shoot when he had Vermaelen and Sol Campbell back-pedalling at speed instead electing to find Franco, who was cut off by Gael Clichy. [LNB]Vermaelen was far from his commanding best, considering how rarely he was called into action. The point was proved when he found himself rounded by Franco, whom he sought to pull down by grabbing a handful of the Mexican's shirt. [LNB]Referee Martin Atkinson, taking advice from an assistant, had no hesitation in producing the red card a harsh decision, even though Vermaelen was culpable for allowing his man to outsmart him in the first place. [LNB]Arsenal continued to tease, rather than torment, with their 10 men. Under lashing rain in the second half, they wilted: Eboué repeatedly tried to surge inside, only to be thwarted by Matthew Upson, while Fabregas curled a free kick around the blind side of the West Ham wall to unsettle Green. [LNB]To their relief, a reply was not forthcoming, with the dynamic Diamanti restricted to testing his luck from long distance. [LNB]As Campbell held firm with some inspired last-ditch tackling, Carlton Cole could curse his luck when his shot struck the outside of Green's post. Fabregas' late penalty, after Upson's handball, sealed the Arsenal ascendancy. [LNB]
