Giroud, Sundulannya Beri 3 Poin Penting bagi Arsenal
Giroud`s Header Enough to See Gunners Grab 3 Points
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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London (B2B) - Arsenal memetik poin penuh di kandangnya di Emirates Stadium berkat gol semata wayang Olivier Giroud ke gawang West Bromwich Albion.
Mendominasi 60% penguasaan bola dan menciptakan 19 peluang, Arsenal hanya menciptakan satu gol yang itu pun terjadi pada babak pertama, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
Didahului berbagai upaya gol dari Lukas Podolski dan Santiago Cazorla, Arsenal menciptakan gol pada menit 14 dari kepala Olivier Giroud.
Menerima kiriman bola dari sepak pojok Cazorla, Giroud melepaskan sundulan maut ke arah sudut kiri bawah gawang West Brom untuk mengubah kedudukan menjadi 1-0.
Setelah gol ini Arsenal kian bernafsu menambah gol lewat beberapa pemainnya termasuk Mathiue Flamini dan Cazorla.
Sebaliknya West Brom juga berusaha membalas ketertinggalan, diantaranya lewat Graham Dorrans dan Saido Berahino, namun tak satu pun gol tercipta.
Memasuki babak kedua, Arsenal makin agresif menggedor West Ham. Podolski berusaha menciptakan gol pada menit 59 usai menerima umpan Nacho Monreal namun tendangannya diblok kiper Ben Foster.
Sebaliknya Wojciech Szczesny harus memblok upaya pemain West Brom Morgan Amalfitano. Kemudian Craig Dawson dua kali menciptakan peluang namun melenceng dari arah gawang Arsenal.
Berikutnya, Podolski dan Mesut Ozil beberapan kali mengancam gawang West Brom termasuk sebuah tembakan dari kaki kiri Ozil yang dijinakkan Ben Foster.
Arsenal tak putus asa menciptakan gol, salah satunya dari pemain pengganti Kim Kallstrom menjelang pertandingan usai, namun sundulannya yang menyambut umpan Bacary Sagna melebar ke kanan gawang West Ham.
Kedudukan 1-0 bertahan sampai akhir pertandingan dan Arsenal pun kokoh di peringkat empat dengan 76 poin atau 2 poin di bawah Chelsea, sedangkan West Brom menempati peringkat 16 dengan 36 poin.
London - Arsenal celebrated their Champions League qualification as Olivier Giroud secured a 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger´s side booked their place in Europe´s elite club competition without kicking a ball when fifth placed Everton were beaten 3-2 by Manchester City on Saturday.
And 24 hours later, Giroud´s first half header maintained the feel-good factor at the Emirates Stadium and capped a stroll in the sunshine for the Gunners, who were rarely troubled en route to a fourth successive victory.
After looking in severe danger of missing out on the Champions League for the first time in 17 years following their defeat at Everton last month, there was a palpable sense of relief in north London that Arsenal had wrapped up fourth place with two games to spare.
Albion never threatened to spoil the party, but Pepe Mel´s team remain four points above the relegation zone and their safety will be guaranteed if third bottom Norwich lost either of their final two matches against Chelsea and Arsenal.
With influential midfielder Aaron Ramsey sidelined by a thigh injury and Arsenal´s Champions League mission already complete, it would have been no surprise to see the Gunners go through the motions.
But the incentive of nailing down places in the team for the FA Cup final against Hull on May 17 ensured there was sufficient spark to Arsenal´s play and they quickly forced Albion onto the back foot.
The Gunners threatened in the opening moments when Lukas Podolski fired wide of the near post from Giroud´s flick.
Albion couldn´t cope with the speed and precision of Arsenal´s attacks and Mesut Ozil slalomed into the penalty area before setting up Santi Cazorla for a powerful shot that deflected over.
Arsenal´s pressure was rewarded from the resulting Cazorla corner in the 14th minute as France striker Giroud, showing greater desire than his Albion markers, made a thrusting run to the near-post where he directed a close-range header past Ben Foster.
Giroud´s 22nd goal of the season should have acted as a wake-up call for lethargic Albion, but instead another defensive error, this time from Diego Lugano, almost led to a second goal.
