Arsenal come from behind to win in London derby

Arsenal had to come from behind to pick up a well earned 3 points against West Ham on Saturday evening at Upton Park. Olivier Giroud finally got off the mark in the League as he equalised whilst Walcott came off the bench and changed the game around, scoring one and assisting Santi Cazorla who scored a brilliant goal late on. That was all after Diame had given West Ham the lead despite the Gunners dominating possession early on. It was a strong test of the teams character and spirit having lost for the first time this season to Chelsea last week but they came back strong with a convincing performance. The performance at the back had improved massively from last week as Koscielny was back on the bench in place of Per Mertesacker who was back from a virus. Mertesacker had the job of dealing with Andy Carroll for the afternoon and he did that very well. Meanwhile Olivier Giroud lead the line as Gervinho was pushed out wide but the Ivorian had a poor game - a frustrating sign of his inconsistency despite being the Gunners top scorer this season.

Olivier Giroud scored his first goal in the Premier League as Arsenal won against West Ham

The first chance of the game fell to Olivier Giroud as the ball bounced off of Ramsey and into the path of the Frenchman whose shot was creeping inside the near post but for Jaaskalainen who kept out the shot.

Santi Cazorla then almost found the net as Podolski got the ball out wide and found Cazorla on the edge of the area who hit a shot which deflected wide.

It was all Arsenal in the early parts of the game and Giroud had another attempt at goal as he smashed the ball towards the far corner from just inside the area but Carroll managed to get his body in the way of the shot.

However it was West Ham who took the lead against the run of play as Diame stepped inside Ramsey before curling the ball brilliantly round Mannone and into the corner of the net from a tight angle.

Arsenal came back quickly though and almost found the equaliser through Giroud as Mertesacker's flick couldn't quite find its way into the path of the striker.

The Gunners then finally did find a goal. Podolski played a great ball in towards the near post which found Giroud who was allowed to tap home for his first goal in the league for Arsenal. The goal cued a celebration showing the Frenchman's relief at finally bagging himself an important goal.

Just before the break West Ham had a great chance to regain the lead as Carroll found Nolan but he stabbed the ball wide from close range.

The score at half time was 1-1.

Five minutes after the hour mark, Giroud almost found the net once more. Theo Walcott's backheel somehow found its way through to Giroud but from a tight angle and under pressure from the goalkeeper the ball was put into the side netting.

It was then West Ham's turn to squander a chance as Carroll out jumped Mannone but headed wide.

Lukas Podolski was having a great game down the left flank and 18 minutes from the end of the game he fashioned a chance for himself as he hit a shot which Jaaskalainen parmed wide.

15 minutes from the end, Arsenal finally made their pressure tell as Theo Walcott slid home from Giroud's through ball to put the Gunners infront.

Kevin Nolan, as he did in the first half, had a fantastic chance to score for the Hammers but from 12 yards out he curled the ball over the bar.

Per Mertesacker, a man not known for his goal scoring credentials almost put the game to bed as he managed to turn inside the area before seeing his deflected shot go wide.

Eight minutes from the end of the match, Arsenal finally sealed all 3 points. Walcott did well to keep the ball in the middle of midfield before feeding Cazorla who struck a brilliant dipping shot from 25 yards out which found the net. A quite brilliant way to cap off a brilliant performance.

The final score finished West Ham 1-3 Arsenal.

The teams lineups:

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Reid, McCartney, Collins, Demel, Vaz Te(62), Noble, Diame(82), Jarvis, Nolan, Carroll.
Subs: Henderson, Tomkins, Taylor(62), O'Neil, Benayoun, Cole(82), Maiga.

Arsenal: Mannone, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs(56), Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla, Gervinho(61), Giroud, Podolski(85).
Subs: Martinez, Koscielny(85), Santos(56), Coquelin, Arshavin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott(61).

Man of the match: Santi Cazorla

Referee: Phil Dowd
Attendance: 34,974