Arsenal gun down Hammers

Arsenal came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory over West Ham on Saturday evening as Olivier Giroud scored his first Premier League goal.

Gunners move into fifth with convincing win

Arsenal came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory over West Ham in Saturday evening's London derby as Olivier Giroud scored his first Premier League goal for the Gunners. Arsene Wenger's men went behind in the first half but pulled off an impressive comeback in a match where another new-boy, Santi Cazorla, shone again. Mohamed Diame opened the scoring for Sam Allardyce's side in the 21st minute with a tidy finish but Giroud equalised for Arsenal just before the break. Substitute Theo Walcott then added another to put Arsene Wenger's men ahead 13 minutes from time before Cazorla crowned another impressive display with a stunning strike late on from 25 yards. The victory pushed the Gunners up into fifth in the Premier League, while it marked a first defeat in five for the Hammers.

Concern

Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs limped off in the second half, which could be a concern for England, although West Ham striker Andy Carroll did complete the full 90 minutes on his recovery from a hamstring problem. Before kick-off, there was a well-observed minute's applause for former West Ham defender John Bond, who passed away recently. Arsenal started brightly as the recalled Giroud sent in a low shot from 20 yards which forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into action, before Cazorla had a goalbound shot blocked. West Ham looked to utilise Carroll's presence whenever possible, but needed all the help they could get in their own penalty area as Arsenal continued to press. First, Carl Jenkinson's cross was hacked behind and then Carroll knocked Cazorla's fierce drive over his own crossbar. West Ham, though, snatched the lead against the run of play in the 21st minute. The ball was worked down the left channel and Diame cut inside Aaron Ramsey to fire an angled drive into the top corner. The Senegal midfielder was shown a yellow card for celebrating his first Irons' goal by running into the crowd - and was fortunate not to have then seen red after clattering into Mikel Arteta, instead just getting a final warning from referee Phil Dowd. West Ham were now on the front foot, with Carroll's close-range header straight at Vito Mannone. Arsenal had a chance to equalise when Giroud just failed to connect with Per Mertesacker's flicked header through the six-yard box. The French striker, though, did bag his Premier League goal four minutes before half-time. After winning the ball in midfield, Giroud stabbed it out to Lukas Podolski on the left. The German darted to the byline before cutting the ball back across goal - where Giroud arrived at pace to slot home. West Ham, though, could easily have gone back in front just before the break when Kevin Nolan knocked the ball wide from close range after a free-kick into the Arsenal penalty area. The Irons were fired up following the restart, forcing a succession of corners. Arsenal left-back Gibbs hobbled off in the 55th minute, replaced by Brazilian Andre Santos - an injury concern for England ahead of their World Cup qualifiers. Matt Jarvis' shot-on-the-turn flew over as the hosts pressed again. As the hour mark passed, Ricardo Vaz Te had to be substituted, by Matthew Taylor, after falling awkwardly on his arm after racing to a 50/50 with the Arsenal keeper. Wenger looked to inject some fresh life into the visitors' attack when he sent on Walcott for Gervinho. Walcott almost helped set up a goal when Cazorla's shot hit Ramsey and bobble in West Ham penalty area, his clever backheel was cut into the sidenetting by Giroud from a very tight angle. The Irons went close moments later as Carroll knocked a deep cross wide after getting above Mannone. The game was wide open now as both sides created chances, Cazorla firing off target after a jinking run before Mertesacker's last-gap tackle denied Nolan.

Spilled

At the other end, Podolski's low drive was spilled behind by Jaaskelainen. Arsenal broke away to take the lead with 13 minutes remaining. Giroud fed Walcott, who timed his run to beat the offside trap, dart into the penalty area and beat the keeper with a low shot into the near post. West Ham quickly spurned a chance to draw level when Nolan blasted over from 10 yards. With 11 minutes left, Diame was replaced by Carlton Cole. However, it was game over when, in the 83rd minute, the excellent Cazorla finally got his goal - lashing a sublime left-foot effort into the top-right corner from 25 yards.

West Ham United	Team Statistics	Arsenal
1	Goals	3
1	1st Half Goals	1
3	Shots on Target	7
5	Shots off Target	5
1	Blocked Shots	9
4	Corners	16
12	Fouls	8
1	Offsides	1
3	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
74.8	Passing Success	87.3
15	Tackles	21
73.3	Tackles Success	90.5
31.3	Possession	68.7
41.5	Territorial Advantage	58.5
266	Total Passes	606
16	Total Crosses	34
135	Lost Balls	148
52	Recoveries	60
31.2	1st Half Poss.	68.8
29.7	2nd Half Poss.	70.3