Arsenal remain unconvincing in many areas and yet this was a day to savour for Arsene Wenger as four teams above his dropped points and his players produced the sort of character they are usually accused of lacking.
Two goals in three minutes just before half-time were enough to clinch victory at West Ham and, although more clinical finishing would have given the scoreline a healthier glow, they have emerged from two London derbies in three days with six points. Wenger smiled with satisfaction and hailed his players for their resilience, especially after they played for 40 minutes with 10 men against Queen’s Park Rangers on Boxing Day.
‘We had a solid, combative and united performance from the first to the last minute,’ said the Arsenal boss. ‘We made more chances and deserved to win the game . . . everyone did their job well. We were a bit jaded and had to dig deep.’
Santi Cazorla opened the scoring from the spot, having reclaimed penalty duties from Alexis Sanchez who stole them against QPR and missed, and Danny Welbeck pounced for the second as West Ham were still fuming at referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision to award the penalty.
Swarbrick had not endeared himself to the home crowd in the fifth minute when he ruled out Alex Song’s splendid volley because Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate were offside.
The penalty multiplied their anger but both decisions were understandable — even though Hammers boss Sam Allardyce took issue with the offside, complaining about inconsistencies and a goal scored against his side by Romelu Lukaku at Everton in November.
Kouyate pulled one back after the break, Arsenal wobbled at the back, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny struggled with high balls.
Substitute Enner Valencia almost levelled late on but, equally, the visitors should have extended their lead from one of many chances they carved open on the counter.
West Ham goalkeeper Adrian produced a string of saves to thwart Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez and Cazorla, while Welbeck, having scored his first goal for nearly a month, dragged a couple of decent chances wide of the target.
For a change, the win was not about Arsenal’s precision in attack but their determination and courage at the back, helped by Laurent Koscielny, back for only his third appearance during nearly three months of problems with his Achilles tendons.
Koscielny is always a solid presence, but others stepped up too. Per Mertesacker produced one terrific clearance, heading behind for a corner as Andy Carroll loomed over him, and Francis Coquelin, making his first Premier League start in nearly two years, added bite in midfield.
In fact, Allardyce can be flattered by the team Wenger selected because the Arsenal boss rarely tinkers on account of the opposition. Coquelin was brought in alongside Mathieu Flamini to fight for the knock-downs won by Carroll.
Arsenal finished the game with the only six senior defenders in their first-team squad all on the pitch. ‘We need to be stable defensively,’ said Wenger. ‘We’ve missed important players at the back.
‘I felt Coquelin played well. He tired but in the first half he was very influential.’ With Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble on the bench, Song was West Ham captain against the club he left for Barcelona in 2012, but he played most of the first half like someone too desperate to prove a point, often caught in possession while over-elaborating.
Song was more commanding after the break and started the match by lashing a sweet volley into the net. He chose not to celebrate — unlike Allardyce who pumped his fists in the air — but there was a flag up and referee Swarbrick ruled it out.
Kouyate and Diafra Sakho were offside and jumped out of the way of the ball in front of Szczesny. It seemed like a good decision but, it’s true, on another day it might have been allowed.
Arsenal went ahead four minutes before the break when Winston Reid tripped Cazorla as he ran at goal, and the Spaniard sent Adrian the wrong way from the spot. For the second, Mathieu Debuchy eluded Kouyate and Oxlade-Chamberlain ran the ball to the line before cutting a low cross into the centre where Welbeck slid in behind James Tomkins.
Kouyate struck early in the second half, climbing above Debuchy to meet a cross from Tomkins, the centre-half who found himself on the right wing and skipped past Cazorla as if he wasn’t there.
It offered hope, but that is where the fightback ended, and Arsenal have won their last eight against West Ham. A win at Southampton on New Year’s Day and Arsenal will be back in the top four. ‘I always had belief,’ said Wenger.
They are 13 points behind leaders Chelsea and expect key players like Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey back next month. They couldn’t, could they? – Daily Mail