It came on the break, the result of passing between Oxlade-Chamberlain and Rosicky, the two player’s of the game.
The rest of the half featured Spurs territorial domination and Arsenal’s dangerous counterattacks, the best of which saw the Ox race through only to chip the ball left of the goal.
Spurs created few clearcut chances. Arsenal appeared very comfortable walking in at halftime.
All that changed in the second half as Spurs upped the tempo and aided by a couple of Szczesny errors were unlucky not to score.
Arsenal created little in the second half, preferring to soak up the pressure and see the game out.
See the game out they did, conceding few good chances to Spurs and moving back up to third in the league.
Player Ratings:
Szczesny 5. Did not have many saves to make, but his failure to gather in two crosses early in the second half could have cost us dear. He could be excused for the first, but the second mistake was sloppy and only extra bodies lying in the way saved the day. Was more confident late in the game.
Sagna 6. Put in a strong shift but an early yellow card meant he had to be careful throughout.
Gibbs 6. Did a decent job keeping Townsend quiet for most of the game. Was able to get forward in the first half, but stayed back in the second.
Mertesacker 8. Excellent game for Per who dominated the air and made a number of key interceptions.
Koscielny 8. Like Mertesacker, he was outstanding. Adebayor kept him busy, but he stuck to him and kept him off the scoresheet.
Arteta 6. A quiet game for Mikel, who supported the defence most of the time.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 8. Setup the first goal and had three good shooting opportunities to score (he’ll be annoyed at himself) in the first half. His pace and positioning are key factors in this team right now.
Rosicky 8. What a goal! I remember him scoring goals like that about eight years ago. With a goal like that, he’s my man of the match. He’s making it a habit of scoring against Spurs. As usual he was energetic and creative.
Cazorla 6. Santi couldn’t impose himself on the game. Often he was physically crowded off the ball and unable to keep it for very long.
Podolski 6. He had a good first half and had one of our few shots in the second half. He showed good energy as well in helping track back to help Gibbs.
Giroud 6. He never really was able to get into the game either. He was isolated and his holdup play was not a factor when Arsenal decided they wanted to defend.
Substitutes:
Flamini n/a. Came on to provide defensive solidity. Picked up a yellow card in no time.
Monreal n/a. Also came on for defence.
Vermaelen n/a. Another defensive substitution.