Arsenal edged out Southampton 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Phil Thompson has told Sky Sports that Santi Cazorla was his Man of the Match for his late heroics in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.
Both sides seemed set to share the spoils at the Emirates yesterday when Laurent Koscielny cancelled out Petr Cech’s unfortunate own goal in the first half.
But referee Bobby Madely pointed to the spot in the dying moments when Olivier Giroud went to ground under a challenge from Jose Fonte.
And the Spanish midfielder – who also scored a penalty in the 3-1 win at Watford last time out – kept his cool to fire past Fraser Forster from the spot and seal all three points for Arsenal.
Southampton’s Oriol Romeu also gave a good account of himself in defensive midfield for the Saints, but Thompson, on Sky Sports, has given the nod to Cazorla for holding his nerve amid the pressure.
“My man of the match is between two players: Santi Cazorla or Oriol Romeu – they were absolutely fantastic – but I have to give it to Cazorla for his pressure penalty.”
Perhaps the win papered over the cracks from an Arsenal perspective. The Gunners were far from their best, but no fans, or indeed Arsene Wenger, will care just now.
The North Londoners are sixth in the Premier League table, five points behind a Manchester City side who have won every game so far.
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