A very efficient performance saw us brush aside an average West Ham team 2-0. The Hammers came to the Emirates on a high from their previous win against the then leaders, Manchester United, but they also came with a very depleted and injury-ridden team. No Dyer, Bowyer, Zamora, Parker, Solano, Etherington, Bellamy, Boa Morta, Gabbidon, Faubert, Davenport, and Collins. Ljungberg limped off after 37 mins too, so thats a full team that can probably easily beat the team that started today.

Like I said in my game preview, the only threat I expected was from set pieces. At full strength, West Ham would give anyone a good game. So lucky for us, we got a break.

We had 4 changes from our last game, with Eboue, Hoyte, Adebayor, and Rosicky replacing Diaby, Sagna, Bendtner, and Hleb. The 4-4-2 formation was expected to be used at home against a mid-table team.

The game started with a bang. A superb cross from Fabregas who was given more space than he should ever be given was chested down and volleyed into the bottom corner with one touch by our Crozilian Eduardo, again proving how clinical and lethal he is in the box … almost clinithal!! This goal was the fastest goal to be scored in the Emirates, only 72 seconds into the game.

West Ham actually tried to make a game out of it in the first half, and had a couple of half decent chances from corners and free kicks, the most significant being Ferdinand’s shot from the corner which was cleared off the line by the magnificent Clichy. Not much later, Clichy again was involved and made a great pass down field with Adebayor running between Upson and Ferdinand and using his pace to get to the box before them and nudged the ball with his head past Green’s outstretched arm and just when everyone thought the chance was lost reaching the corner line, Adebayor used some sort of Togolese voodoo magic to hit the ball from an impossible angle where it twisted and turned and spun outside then inside the goal even with two defenders almost getting to the line!

2-0 with only 19 minutes gone. After the second goal, the game was relatively over. Arsenal went from 2nd gear to 1st gear, never needed to anything more. The only other significant events of the half were a penalty for us from Spector’s handball blocking an Eboue cross, and Ljunberg being subbed after injuring his hamstring. An amusing argument between Freddie and McCartney was caught on camera a few mins before the substitution.

The second half Arsenal just went through the motions. Relatively stress free half with nice touches throughout from our team. Walcott came in for Eduardo in the 63rd min. We changed our 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 at that point with Theo slotting as a left winger. It was weird strategic change, I would’ve thought it was a perfect chance to have Theo play upfront as an out and out striker. A few mins later Hleb came on for Eboue, which meant Theo moved to the right with Rosicky going left, while Hleb went in just in front of Fabregas and Flamini almost as a 2nd striker. Nothing that significant happened, except maybe Theo seeming to have re-injured his shoulder, but that didn’t look too bad.

A comfortable win overall. One thing I really enjoyed about this game was the fact that we always had people in the box for crosses. Eduardo was there, Adebayor was almost there, and even Rosicky was in the box! When we switched to 4-5-1, Adebayor was as good as we know he can be, dominating their defenders, controlling the ball, and so on. Fabregas was excellent, everyone else had a good game or better, except Hoyte. He’s not Sagna for sure, but he also lacks match fitness, so giving him the chance today was a good move.

Player ratings -

Almunia - 7 - Not much to do.
Clichy - 9 - An excellent assist, a game changing goal line clearance, and an overall Clichyesque performance.
Toure - 7 - Solid, will be missed
Gallas - 7 - Solid
Hoyte - 5 - Shaky first half, much better 2nd half.
Rosicky - 8 - I personally thought he had a very good game.
Flamini - 7 - Typical midfield engine performance.
Fabregas - 9 - Controlled the midfield and a great assist. One more assist or goal away from our man of the match.
Eboue - 6 - One of the most skilled players we have. Needs to help out more defensively. Needs to quit his silly “I’ve been fouled” jump everytime he’s hit, makes it look like a dive even when its not.
Adebayor - 8 - Used his pace and power for the goal, and had a very good 2nd half.
Eduardo - 8 - Great control, great finishing. Will rip defences apart the rest of the season. Coolest finisher I’ve ever seen.

Man of the Match - Clichy.