Monday 26 December 2016 18:32, UK
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger called Olivier Giroud’s winning goal “something special” as his team left it late against West Brom.
Giroud netted the winner four minutes from time with a cleverly-orchestrated looping header in a 1-0 win over the dogged Baggies, who frustrated the hosts for the majority of the game.
Ben Foster starred for West Brom, making a string of saves early in the second half while Alexis Sanchez also struck the post for the hosts.
Wenger's decision to hand Giroud a first start in the Premier League this season paid off and he was full of praise for the French striker's impact.
"We had to be patient against a very well organised West Brom side - nobody beats them easily in this league," he said.
"They are tenacious and disciplined. We needed to keep composure and our patience. We couldn't afford to make a defensive mistake as they are dangerous on the counter attack.
"We had a very high level of possession and domination but we needed something special from Olivier."
Arsenal came into the game on the back of two straight Premier League defeats, which has left them nine points behind Chelsea in the title race.
With Chelsea making it 12 Premier League wins in a row against Bournemouth, Arsenal remain nine points adrift of the west Londoners.
When asked if failing to win would have been a big blow, he replied: "Yes. Football is like that - you have to accept the result. I thought at some stage it might go that way and we could have even lost the game.
"After having two difficult results, we didn't panic and kept faith in our game."
