Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was both relieved and happy after his side grinded out a result against Derby opponents West Ham United. The Gunners took a 2-0 lead but looked far from convincing in the final half an hour as the Hammers piled on the pressure in the search for an equaliser.
Wenger was quoted saying by the club’s official website, “It was a very important game for us and we knew that we had a very physical game in front of us.
“I was a bit worried because we played with 10 men for 40 minutes against QPR and had to turn up here two days later, but we had a united, combative and very solid performance.
“We are questioned a lot about our physicality and we had a good opportunity to show that we could do it – and we did it in a very convincing way.”
With the win, Arsenal are now level on points with Southampton who drew their game against Chelsea. They also overtook their opponents West Ham United and occupy the 5th spot, behind Southampton on goal difference. The Gunners will move ahead of Southampton if they manage to beat them on Thursday. Wenger said that Arsenal are looking forward to facing Southampton on the new years day, “It’s a good opportunity for us to do well in a big game. We can get some confidence from [West Ham], we drew 2-2 at Liverpool and they equalised in the final minute. I feel we have enough confidence to do well.”
After the defeat against Manchester United in November, Arsenal have recorded seven wins in all competitions and have drawn just one game which came against Liverpool. The record has gotten them back in touch with the top three. Southampton have been in good form themselves in the last three games after a mini-slump in November and early parts of December. The game promises to be a good one as both sides will attack each other from the onset due to their philosophies.