Arsenal comfortably beat West Brom 3-0 as Robin
van Persie scored his 29th Premier League goal this calendar year and
set up the other two strikes in a dominant performance from the Gunners.
Thomas
Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta were the beneficiaries from their captain's
creative display, though a fine performance from Carl Jenkinson at right
back did not go unnoticed.
The home side started brightly, dominating possession as is customary at the Emirates.
A real buzz came over the crowd whenever Van Persie came into contact
with the ball, but the home side failed to trouble Ben Foster in the
opening stages, Andre Santos hitting over from a free kick with the only
effort of the first 10 minutes.
West Brom was momentarily down to 10 men as Jonas Olsson went off to
receive treatment for a facial injury after colliding with Thomas
Vermaelen, but the defense held strong with Steven Reid dropping into
center back until Olsson was ready to resume.
But
in the 23rd minute, Arsenal was rewarded for the calm buildup play, as
Mikel Arteta beautifully sliced open the West Brom defense to find Theo
Walcott.
The winger tried to slot through Ben Foster's legs, but
his attempt was stopped, only for Van Persie to tap in for his 11th goal
of the Premier League season.
That goal served to buoy both the
Arsenal team and the fans, with Jenkinson putting in some dangerous
crosses down the right wing, and generally impressing.
And five
minutes before halftime, the Gunners doubled their lead. West Brom
failed to clear its lines after a corner, and Alex Song drifted a cross
over to the back post where Van Persie was waiting to cut the ball back
across goal for Thomas Vermaelen to apply the finish.
After Chris
Brunt missed the Baggies' best chance of the game, volleying well over
from the edge of the box, Arsenal almost made it three as Gervinho found
Aaron Ramsey in the box before the Welshman turned and dragged a shot
just wide of the post.
The game was well and truly put to bed
after a double change from Arsenal, and Tomas Rosicky played a key part,
finding Van Persie in the box, where his layoff was perfect for Arteta
to sweep a shot into the corner.
West Brom did cause some trouble
as Somen Tchoyi came on and had a shot blocked with a sliding tackle
from Vermaelen, but the striker really should have done better, as
Vermaelen was already on the floor when his shot was struck.
The
rest of the match fizzled out with Szczesny occasionally called upon to
make a stop, but rarely troubled as the Gunners sealed another win.
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