Arsenal 2-1 QPR: Alexis Sanchez and Tomas Rosicky goals seal win as OIivier Giroud sees red for headbutting Nedum Onuoha Alexis Sanchez saw an early first half penalty saved by Rob Green, after being fouled by Armand Traore Sanchez rectified his miss by putting the Gunners ahead on 37 minutes following a Kieran Gibbs cross Olivier Giroud was shown a straight red card early after the interval for headbutting Nedum Onuoha Tomas Rosicky doubled the hosts lead on 65 minutes with a neat side-footed finish following Sanchezs pass Charlie Austin pulled one back for the visitors from the penalty spot on 79 minutes. Arsene Wenger shook his head and fumed quietly as he watched Olivier Giroud disappear down the tunnel having been sent off for butting Nedum Onuoha. For once, his look said more than his words. This was Wengers 600th win as Arsenal manager and his 400th in the Barclays Premier League and, having toiled through a seemingly never-ending injury crisis, he could have done without this flash of idiocy from his senior centre forward. Giroud is fortunate his team-mates were able to escape with three points, although it was a tense and anxious finale against a team without a point away from home all season. Alexis Sanchez had opened the scoring in the first half and created the second for Tomas Rosicky, soon after Arsenal had been reduced to 10 men, but Charlie Austin pulled one back from the spot and mild panic rippled around the Emirates Stadium as the home team hung on. Mathieu Flamini scrambled one effort away from under his own bar and Harry Redknapp was certain his team deserved another penalty when Kieran Gibbs hauled down Bobby Zamora as he tried to connect with a cross. It was a blatant penalty, said Redknapp. He got dragged down for sure. Bobby couldnt believe he didnt get it. Maybe its because hes given two already. Arsenal survived and overall deserved the win which keeps them within two points of the top four, but they may live to regret Girouds flash of temper. The France striker is only just back after three months out with a broken ankle and will now miss the games at West Ham on Sunday at Southampton on New Years Day and at home to Hull in the FA Cup. It was a deserved red card, said Wenger. He didnt kill him, but he touched him and should not have done it. He should have been in control. Giroud has apologised. He knows he made a mistake and I know him well enough to think that he will not do it again. Maybe his injury he had played a part on his mind and he was scared to be injured again. Its unusual for him. Honestly, hes usually a guy who is in control of his reactions and quite calm. In my job, you never need that but you have to deal with the mistakes of people. Giroud was angry because he thought Onuoha had nudged him from behind as he raced head-to-head for the ball with goalkeeper Rob Green. He spun to the ground, jumped up, confronted the QPR defender, shouted and pushed his head into his face. Onuoha fell backwards to the ground. It was not the most ferocious assault but he did it, and right in front of referee Martin Atkinson, who pulled out his red card without hesitation. You cant do that, said Redknapp. If hes nutted him, he gets sent off, its a silly thing to do really. The dismissal changed the dynamic of the game, although not immediately. First Arsenal went 2-0 up when Sanchez carved through QPR from left to right and found Rosicky, who marked his first Premier League start of the season with a crisp first-time finish which seemed to clip Steven Caulker and swerve low past Green. Sanchez was the star and, if anything, performed even better up front after Girouds sending off, although the match had not start too well when he insisted on taking a penalty that should have been taken by Santi Cazorla and missed it. Sanchez won the kick, tempting hapless former Arsenal wing-back Armand Traore into a slide tackle, and pushed Cazorla aside, but Green guessed the right way and kept out the Chileans spot-kick with a strong hand, diving low to his left. Cazorla had scored from the spot against Stoke and Newcastle. Santis a nice guy and let him take it, said Wenger. But Alexis was not the number one penalty taker. Sanchez helped make amends by heading his team into the lead, before half-time. Rosicky, launched a move which swept out to Gibbs who crossed to the far post where Traore had failed to track back, leaving Sanchez to convert a simple header. Atrocious defending, said Redknapp. I wasnt pleased with us in the first-half. They dominated and it was not until we got it back to 2-1 that we really started to take the game to them. We werent positive enough at 1-0 against ten men and for them to score was the worst possible. To go two down was a massive blow. Junior Hoilett came off the bench and won the penalty which injected QPR with confidence. Hoilett jinked inside Mathieu Debuchy at pace to provoke a foul and Austin smashed his spot kick down the centre with the confidence of a striker scoring his 12th goal of the season, albeit only his second away from Loftus Road. With memories still fresh of the late equaliser they conceded at Liverpool, the home team became anxious. In the last five or six minutes we were a bit edgy, because we conceded a late goal last week and you could feel it in our mind, said Wenger. But this time Arsenal hung on to protect the lead and the manager was able to celebrate yet another career landmark. Its tougher to win today than it was at the start, he added. It doesnt become easier. I am happy to win 400 because its not as easy as it looks. The next 400 will be more difficult.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 06:03:16 +0000
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