Arsenal shined thanks to Cazorla’s double

Arsenal is succeeding thanks to knowing how to conserve points in matches with teams smaller than them.

Both of Santi Cazorla’s goals came in the second half, after a balanced first period with few opportunities.

Saturday, January 18

KT

Sunderland

2-2

Southampton

KT

Arsenal

2-0

Fulham

KT

Crystal

1-0

Stoke

KT

Man City

4-2

Cardiff

KT

Norwich

1-0

Hull

KT

West Ham

1-3

Newcastle

KT

Liverpool

2-2

Aston Villa

Sunday, January 19

(London time; +7 equal to Hanoi time)

13:30

Swansea

v

Tottenham

16:00

Chelsea

v

Man Utd

Monday, January 20

20:00

West Brom

v

Everton

In this match, Arsenal did not play very well, and Fulham did not play too badly, but the result was still in line with most judgments and expectations.

The difference was quickly transformed by Arsenal’s dominant position.

However, with the return of key midfielder Hangeland after three months of recovery, and the confidence from two consecutive draws when he came to Emirates Stadium recently, Fulham once regained confidence.

One of them was a beautiful volley by Steve Sidwell from outside the penalty area in the 23rd minute, causing goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to push the ball away.

Arsenal might not have been any more startled if Bacary Sagna’s rebound, following Cazorla’s free kick, beat goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from close range.

Legend Thierry Henry was in the stands to witness his old team win yesterday.

Persistence is what Fulham lacks, if not part of the reason for their recent disasters.

They continued to follow that same path, yesterday, despite a promising start to the second half with consecutive good opportunities.

The main stage was then ceded to Arsenal.

Gnabry can be considered a new discovery for Arsenal this season.

That scorching pressure finally melted Fulham’s defense.

Since then, Fulham has hardly been able to `move` anymore.

This victory helped Arsenal increase its score to 51 – still one point more than second-placed rival Man City (the team won 4-2 in the match at the same time with Cardiff City).

* Match videos.

Squad

ARSENAL: Szczesny 6 (rated 6 on a 10-point scale);

Goals: Cazorla 57′, 62′.

FULHAM: Stekelenburg 6;

Best player of the match: Santi Cazorla