Monday 29 December 2014 07:23, UK
Arsene Wenger said Arsenal are heading in the right direction after seeing them hold on for a hard-fought 2-1 victory over West Ham.
Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck scored late in the first half to put the Gunners in charge, but the hosts halved the deficit after the break through Cheikhou Kouyate.
The Hammers piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser but Arsenal held firm to inflict a first home defeat on West Ham since August.
We still have a lot to do but I feel the last six or seven results we have been more consistent. We are going in the right direction.
“I felt we played in a very convincing way,” Wenger told Sky Sports. “Always dangerous going forward, we defended very well from keeper to up front and everybody did their job very well.
“We still have a lot to do but I feel the last six or seven results we have been more consistent. We are going in the right direction, we have a difficult game against Southampton next so let’s recover and prepare well, we gave a lot in the last three days.”
The win over West Ham was the perfect end to the year for Arsenal, who move above the Hammers and into fifth in the Premier League.
It was also an impressive display at Upton Park after they have been criticised in the past for not standing up to the physical tests in the league.
“We resisted well and were always there on the second ball,” said Wenger. “We came out a lot on counter attacks and created many chances.
“We played with 10 men against QPR and today we were tested in the air and responded very well, but when you have the defenders back in it makes a change.”
Asked about the early goal that Alex Song had ruled out for offside, Wenger said: “I was surprised, I didn’t see what was wrong. I didn’t see it from the bench.”
