West Ham Vs. Arsenal: Gunners Shine Through

Arsenal moved to third place, two points off the top of the Premier League following a 3-0 win against bottom of the table West Ham. It was the sort of performance that the club's fans have prayed for, as the previous two weeks had been forgettable.

The team came into the game on the back of games against lower league opposition and in West Ham they were facing a team looking like they would have that tag next season so consistently at the foot of the Premier League table. Two players, Samir Nasri and Robin Van Persie, who seem like the key to Arsenal's title push this season, came back to the team after some (refreshing) rest, and Alex Song started in place of the much-maligned Denilson.

Captain Cesc Fabregas seemed to be in more comfortable company with Jack Wilshere completing the midfield trio, and an effective Theo Walcott kept his place. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, deputized for the unfit Lukasz Fabianski, had an excellent save to keep the team in the lead. It was as assuring as it was great to watch.

The team on Yellow started with good intent and when West Ham débutante Wayne Bridge stood off Theo Walcott allowing him to cross into the box for Robin Van Persie to slot the ball home, it started to look like a game the Gunners would excel in. The Dutchman narrowly missed out on doubling his side's lead when Nasri picked him out with a stunning ball allowing him to fire a ferocious effort against the post. The game was sealed before the break when Bridge played Van Persie onside down the left wing before allowing Walcott to steal in and slam home the second. It was at this time one more error from Wayne Bridge with about 15 minutes left on the clock sealed his misery when the full back dragged down Walcott on the edge of the box to concede a penalty with the Arsenal man running away from goal.

One of the flaws of the Arsenal team this season has been the inability to finish games, especially when the have some sort of an advantage, but in this case Robin Van Persie stepped up and slotted coolly into the bottom left-hand corner. There was time for some really imposing short passing inter-play at the dying minutes of the game, and the luxury of taking off Fabregas (at his impressive best throughout the game) and the ever improving Nasri. In the end a really good performance, lacking injuries, packed with endeavor, finesse and, of most importance, a confidence boosting return to match-winning ways.