Minutes later that enigma that is Lukas Podolski was lurking in that left side pocket in the penalty box that he enjoys so much and Santi Cazorla’s excellent eye of the needle pass found him, Lukas got the ball out of his feet and lashed it underneath a closing West Ham player and into the far corner. That goal was scored a minute before half time. It totally changed the mood and perhaps the narrative post match. Had we not found that equaliser then you can be sure that the Emirates would have rained down with boos. As it was we went into the second half with our tails up. In the first half Oliver Giroud cocked up an excellent chance when he was through on goal against the keeper but instead of taking the chance with his right he decided to use his left and try and scoop it

The three points Arsenal gained last night were vitally important but I’d go as far as to say that our second half display was equally important. It looked as if the team was running on empty, not just fuel either but also confidence. While many roll their eyes at the term playing with the handbrake, it is hard to escape what happens on the pitch. The Wigan semi final at Wembley was a perfect example of this. Cautious and afraid of defeat. When Giroud scored a magnificent goal to put Arsenal ahead you could instantly feel the pressure lifting from the players. Suddenly a spark was injected back into the team, a spark that had been absent for a while now.

There was certainly a lingering of the Wigan match in the early stages of the first half last night. Which isn’t surprising when you consider the fitness of both teams. One team having had a long break while the other having come through 120+ minutes of cup football.

Our defensive solidarity that has served us so well this season was not there. The Hammers could have scored before they did. Diame scooping over a very presentable chance on his left foot from close range. We were also massively let off when Matt Jarvis nipped in ahead of Sagna to poke the ball away while the right back was still in the motion of trying to clear the ball, instead kicking the winger who stayed on his feet.

It’s a pretty easy fix really. If referees want to stop diving then they simply have to give those decisions. It is more difficult to spot granted but it’s part of the job.

We were not so lucky when the Arsenal players failed to stop Nocerino’s run into the box and the ball eventually fell to Matt Jarvis to head in from close range.

Minutes later that enigma that is Lukas Podolski was lurking in that left side pocket in the penalty box that he enjoys so much and Santi Cazorla’s excellent eye of the needle pass found him, Lukas got the ball out of his feet and lashed it underneath a closing West Ham player and into the far corner. That goal was scored a minute before half time. It totally changed the mood and perhaps the narrative post match. Had we not found that equaliser then you can be sure that the Emirates would have rained down with boos.

As it was we went into the second half with our tails up. In the first half Oliver Giroud cocked up an excellent chance when he was through on goal against the keeper but instead of taking the chance with his right he decided to use his left and try and scoop it past the keeper. He only attempted that because he didn’t want to use his weaker side. It is one of my bugbears that players at this level are afraid to use their other foot, so Giroud’s miss annoyed me somewhat.

Until Vermaelen hit a long pass 10 minutes into the second half and Giroud with two players to fight off found an inch of space and killed the pass on his left and rifled his right footed shot through the legs of Adrian. A quality goal and hopefully a goal that will give the under-fire Giroud a little more belief during this critical time.

Confidence flowed through the team, even more so when Arsène introduced Aaron Ramsey. He looked just as classy as he was when he started the season. It is great to know that his rise is actually progression and not just a purple patch. Kim Källström in midfield worked very hard and was willing but was often sloppy in possession. This could quite simply be a case of not having played many minutes. His decisions seemed sensible enough but his radar often failed him. I was surprised by the amount of energy that Mikel Arteta was able to produce after the FA cup game.

There was no chance of a late West Ham equaliser when man of the match Santi Cazorla who was much like his old self, spread the play to Giroud out wide, the big man chipped towards the screaming Ramsey who steered a lovely header into the path of Podolski in his favourite position in the box and he lashed high past the keeper and into the net to seal all three points.

Ramsey makes such a difference to this team both defensively and offensively. Mesut Özil is back and ready to contribute so hopefully we are back on the up. Everton are still very much on their up so let’s hope for that particular run to come to an end, preferably this evening.