Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla inspire win over Newcastle

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/13/arsenal-newcastle-premier-league-match-report

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Arsène Wenger has talked, with no little resignation, of how he must live in a “permanent tribunal”, his existence marked by kneejerk reactions and the extremes of emotion but this was an occasion when the verdict was jauntily positive.

Olivier Giroud was the star turn, ably assisted by Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sánchez, as Arsenal showed their attacking mojo, and their fifth win in six matches in all competitions was closed out to a raucous chant from the home support, which reminded everybody that their manager was unique.

It was quite a difference to the division that followed the defeat at Stoke City the previous Saturday, when Arsenal fans had fought among themselves and Wenger was jeered by a small group of them afterwards. The Frenchman shrugged. It is simply the way of the world, he suggested.

“I have worked for 18 years in this country and I have been accepted 99.9% with a big respect,” Wenger said. “I can take the 0.1% and live with it. My job is to make people happy. If they are not happy, I have to live with it.”

The natives were happy here. It was an evening when the anti-Wenger lobby had to keep schtum and the team’s vim and vigour held sway, even if there were a few nerves among the home fans after Ayoze Pérez’s smartly directed header brought a lifeline for Newcastle United that they had barely threatened.

The visitors briefly forced the issue in Arsenal’s defensive third, getting balls into the box, and there was the sense that another goal might have sparked anxiety. Instead, it was Arsenal who had the final word when, after Paul Dummett’s clumsy challenge on Danny Welbeck, Cazorla executed a panenka penalty to round off his performance on his 30th birthday.

“You could see that we were a bit edgy, when we were 3-1 – the crowd as well – there was the ghost of Anderlecht here a little bit,” Wenger said, with a nod towards the 3-3 Champions League draw against the Belgium club, a tie that Arsenal had led 3-0. “We need a few more games.”

Alan Pardew, the Newcastle manager, also sensed that “the demons might return from Anderlecht” and he lamented the first-half moments when Welbeck appeared to handle inside the area, only for the referee, Lee Mason, to overlook the penalty appeal and Wojciech Szczesny produced a double save to deny Yoan Gouffran and Papiss Cissé following Jack Colback’s free-kick.

But Pardew was gracious enough to admit that perhaps his team did not deserve to get back into it and it had been Arsenal’s day. The statistics showed that Wenger’s team had mustered four shots on target, so this was a triumph of no little ruthlessness and Giroud certainly seems to have the bit between his teeth when he faces Newcastle. The centre-forward now has six Premier League goals against them in five appearances from only eight shots on target. He provided an eye-catching focal point for his team.

Arsenal opened at pace. They refused to permit Newcastle any time on the ball and the opening goal came when Héctor Bellerín pressed high to win possession. Sánchez took over and his perfectly weighted cross from the right invited Giroud to rise and power a header past Jak Alnwick.

Newcastle had been warned, when Per Mertesacker sent a looping header from Cazorla’s corner over Alnwick and against the crossbar, and, after Giroud’s first goal, Welbeck had the ball in the net only to be pulled back for a trip on Daryl Janmaat. Mason’s interpretation of the law was strict.

The game was dotted by controversial moments, with the first having come at the very start, when Cheik Tioté was guilty of a reckless high challenge. The Newcastle enforcer planted his studs into Sánchez’s midriff and it was a surprise that Mason took no action. Tioté was eventually booked for a scything foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 60th minute.

Pardew complained about Mason’s decision to overlook Welbeck’s apparent handball in the 33rd minute while Arsenal had their own penalty claim at the end of the first half when Dummett barged over Sánchez. When the contact started, Sánchez had been just inside the area. Arsenal’s thrusting football carried the day. They created other chances in the first half and their levels did not drop at the beginning of the second period, when they menaced Newcastle with a one-two punch. First, Cazorla swapped passes with Sánchez, wriggled away from Fabricio Coloccini and finished with a wonderful chip into the far, top corner. Then Giroud closed on Bellerin’s driven low cross to score with an extravagant flick.

Pardew said: “A lot of credit has to go to Arsenal. They came out flying and we were hanging on during that purple patch.

“It was too open for my liking in the second half and we were punished. The front four of Arsenal gave us a tough evening. The one thing I can say about my team is that we don’t give up. Today was just a bridge too far.”