Rosicky started for the first time this season. Nacho Monreal was got in to play at CB to replace Calum Chambers who desperately needed some rest. This was a QPR side who were yet to get a single point away from home. Seemed 3 points were destined to be in the bag for Arsenal.
Arsenal started much the brighter side with some superb bit of trickery by Sanchez to first deliver a brilliant cross to Giroud and then win a penalty, which he took and missed. This was the first ever Christmas game Sanchez was involved in. Giroud then produced a decent save of Green via a free kick. Arsenal finally took the lead via Sanchez who made up for his miss with a diving header assisted brilliantly by Gibbs.
The 2nd half began in similar fashion. Suddenly the game took an adverse turn when Giroud reacted badly to a push by Onouha by headbutting him and getting a red. Just 53 minutes on the clock and Arsenal had to defend a 1 goal lead with 10 men. However Alexis Sanchez took away 3 defenders on his stride and passed to Rosicky for an easy finish to give us a 2 nil lead. However QPR got a chance to get back in the game when Debuchy, perhaps harshly, was adjudged to have fouled Hoillet which gave away a penalty and Charlie Austin did not miss. But the gunners showed great defensive resilience to finish the game with the 3 points in the bag. Onwards and upwards. Up the Arsenal.
PLAYER RATINGS
1: Wojciech Szczesny (6): Had nothing to do whole game but picking the ball from his net once.
2: Mathieu Debuchy (7): A decent performance both defensively and offensively. Harshly deemed to have given away a penalty.
4: Per Mertesacker (7): Much better than against Pool, but the QPR attack hardly tested him.
18: Nacho Monreal (7): Playing at CB again and did a decent job alongside Per.
3: Kieran Gibbs (6.5): Very fortunate to not give away a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Other than that was quiet decent both offensively and defensively.
20: Mathieu Flamini (6.5): Constantly pointing and shouting as usual albeit with a 97 percent pass completion. Not shocking because majority are to Per.
7: Tomas Rosicky (8.5): It had been so long since he played it would not surprise you if he had forgotten how to play. However a very good performance from our Mozart who took his goal well. He played like a player wanting to prove a point.
19: Santi Cazorla (7.5): Excellent once again. He seems to be thriving in a central position.
23: Danny Welbeck (5): He just kept running, but that's about all he did.
17: Alexis Sanchez (8.5): Missed a penalty but still managed a goal and an assist. Brilliant player, what a signing!
12: Olivier Giroud (1): Showed a lack of temperament which is not expected from an experienced player like him.
SUBSTITUTES:
34: Coquelin (6): Put in a few challenges and took a yellow card late on.
21: Calum Chambers (6): Brought on to increase the numbers in defence.
Arsenal started much the brighter side with some superb bit of trickery by Sanchez to first deliver a brilliant cross to Giroud and then win a penalty, which he took and missed. This was the first ever Christmas game Sanchez was involved in. Giroud then produced a decent save of Green via a free kick. Arsenal finally took the lead via Sanchez who made up for his miss with a diving header assisted brilliantly by Gibbs.
The 2nd half began in similar fashion. Suddenly the game took an adverse turn when Giroud reacted badly to a push by Onouha by headbutting him and getting a red. Just 53 minutes on the clock and Arsenal had to defend a 1 goal lead with 10 men. However Alexis Sanchez took away 3 defenders on his stride and passed to Rosicky for an easy finish to give us a 2 nil lead. However QPR got a chance to get back in the game when Debuchy, perhaps harshly, was adjudged to have fouled Hoillet which gave away a penalty and Charlie Austin did not miss. But the gunners showed great defensive resilience to finish the game with the 3 points in the bag. Onwards and upwards. Up the Arsenal.
PLAYER RATINGS
1: Wojciech Szczesny (6): Had nothing to do whole game but picking the ball from his net once.
2: Mathieu Debuchy (7): A decent performance both defensively and offensively. Harshly deemed to have given away a penalty.
4: Per Mertesacker (7): Much better than against Pool, but the QPR attack hardly tested him.
18: Nacho Monreal (7): Playing at CB again and did a decent job alongside Per.
3: Kieran Gibbs (6.5): Very fortunate to not give away a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Other than that was quiet decent both offensively and defensively.
20: Mathieu Flamini (6.5): Constantly pointing and shouting as usual albeit with a 97 percent pass completion. Not shocking because majority are to Per.
7: Tomas Rosicky (8.5): It had been so long since he played it would not surprise you if he had forgotten how to play. However a very good performance from our Mozart who took his goal well. He played like a player wanting to prove a point.
19: Santi Cazorla (7.5): Excellent once again. He seems to be thriving in a central position.
23: Danny Welbeck (5): He just kept running, but that's about all he did.
17: Alexis Sanchez (8.5): Missed a penalty but still managed a goal and an assist. Brilliant player, what a signing!
12: Olivier Giroud (1): Showed a lack of temperament which is not expected from an experienced player like him.
SUBSTITUTES:
34: Coquelin (6): Put in a few challenges and took a yellow card late on.
21: Calum Chambers (6): Brought on to increase the numbers in defence.