There have been a lot more downs than ups over the last stretch, with more than enough unfavourable talking points leveled at Arsenal. So that their 2-0 victory against West Bromwich Albion can be described as boring is probably a good thing. They controlled from start to finish, rarely put under pressure and walked off with three points to put them back in 3rd place. It was a good day. We need more boring Arsenal just to cleanse the palate.
The Good
Alexis Sanchez - he was buzzing yesterday. Two goals, a nice batch of highlights, the Chilean was very involved in the attack. This is the Alexis Arsenal have needed in the side all year. A strong finish to the season should put him atop Arsenal's goalscoring board in the league and perhaps in all competitions (currently four back of Giroud).
El-Ramsny! - The first start of the Ramsey-Elneny midfield couldn't have gone better. They bossed the midfield, providing both excellent defense and attack when required. Although both players have attacking accumen, Ramsey held the runs in check and El-neny covered when needed, demonstrating an understanding they can build on. Combined with a return for Per Mertesacker, Arsenal controlled the ball and reaped the rewards. Whether this was largely due to competition and Coquelin's drop was just for rest may factor into future line up decisions but Ramsey-Elneny aced their audition. Wenger would be wise to give it a few more goes.
Arsenal - they were good. They took the lead early, built on it and didn't throw it away. We haven't seen that enough so let's just call it what it is: Good.
The Bad
West Brom - I won't be harsh; it's clear they have little to play for. With 40 points, they are pretty well safe from the drop and moving up the table won't change much. They'll come back next year for another fight but, right now, they aren't a team to threaten anything when there's nothing to play for.
Olivier Giroud - Can we talk about strikers? They haven't been scoring much. Welbeck has done his best, potting 4 goals in his 12 appearances. Walcott has only 5 Premier League goals all year. But Giroud? Despite being team leader, he's hit a very rough patch. He hasn't scored a league goal since January 13th and has only 5 goals in 22 appearances in 2016. That's.. bad. And for all his hold up play, he's only assisted on 3. Yesterday, Arsenal found him repeated but none of his four shots truly troubled Foster. He looks frustrated and rightly so. It's not working for him.
The Ugly
Cech's fluff - While everything else looked solid, Cech had an absolutely gaff that thankfully did not cost the team. Coming to claim a corner, Cech got it completely wrong and the ball bounced to Salomon Rondon who fluffed it in the air rather than burying it. Cech has had a few of these moments since returning and it's a bit worrisome but hopefully just a blip.