Robin van Persie scored his 100th Arsenal goal as
the Gunners put their recent troubles behind them with
a comfortable victory over 10-man Bolton at Emirates
Stadium.
After a drab first-half display the Gunners sprang
in to life in the second and opened the scoring when
Van Persie beat Jussi Jaaskelainen at his near post
just 40 seconds after the break.
David Wheater then saw red for pulling back Theo Walcott
when he was through on goal before Van Persie brought
up his ton with a clever flick and Alex Song struck
near the death to complete the morale-boosting win.
The win, Arsenal's second of the season, moved them
away from the relegation zone and ended a difficult
seven days for the club.
After having come from behind to beat League Two Shrewsbury
in midweek, and seeing Arsenal chief executive Ivan
Gazidis give him his full backing, manager Arsene Wenger
will sleep a lot easier than he did last Saturday when
his team crumbled against lowly Blackburn.
There were signs at the start of the game that Arsenal
were going to put in another poor performance after
they started nervously in front of their demanding home
support.
Bolton, who left Gary Cahill at home and Kevin Davies
on the bench, almost took the lead in the third minute
when Wojciech Szczesny pulled off a brilliant save to
deny Darren Pratley from six yards.
Wheater then just missed a glancing header from eight
yards before Arsenal finally woke up.
Mikel Arteta was given space in midfield and sent Gervinho
through with a brilliant slide-rule pass, but the striker's
first touch was poor and Jussi Jaaskelainen came out
to smother.
Van Persie then came within inches of handing Arsenal
the lead in the 10th minute when he picked up Arteta's
short pass from a free-kick and lashed a wicked curling
shot just wide of the Bolton goal.
Davies' rare spell among the substitutes did not last
long as he came on in the 20th minute to replace David
Ngog, who had to come off after clashing heads with
Laurent Koscielny.
The disjointed passing and failure to pressure Bolton
while they were on the ball led to growing frustration
among the home support.
Gervinho wasted a good chance when he blasted over
from 20 yards before Laurent Koscielny's overhead kick
dribbled wide.
Two blocks at the end of the half from Paul Robinson
and Wheater ensured that Bolton's defence remained unbreached
by the half-time whistle, which was greeted by some
boos from the home support.
Arsenal were a completely different team in the second
half.
They came out flying after the break and took just
40 seconds to score.
Aaron Ramsey strode forward with the ball and played
in Van Persie, the Dutchman held off Fabrice Muamba's
strong challenge and fired low past Jaaskelainen at
his near post to register his 99th goal for Arsenal
The goal galvanised Arsenal and Jaaskelainen saved
well from Van Persie after the striker had ventured
in to the box.
Bolton were on the rack and their task was made much
harder in the 55th minute when Wheater pulled Walcott
back just outside the box after being played through
by Ramsey.
With the England winger being through on goal with
only Jaaskelainen to beat, referee Mark Clattenburg
had no choice but to send Wheater off.
The Gunners were by now were clearly in the ascendancy
and Arteta came close to doubling their lead with a
side-footed effort that crept just wide.
Jaaskelainen blocked well from the Spaniard before
Bolton hit back on the counter with a rare attack. Chris
Eagles raced clear after being played in by Martin Petrov
but the former Manchester United man wasted his golden
opportunity by hitting a weak shot in to Szczesny's
arms.
Jaaskelainen had to scamper across his line to deny
Van Persie and was then tested by a powerful Laurent
Koscielny volley.
With 20 minutes left Van Persie brought up his Arsenal
ton and gave the Gunners the two-goal cushion they needed
to feel safe.
Walcott beat his marker down the right and crossed
low for the Dutchman, who turned home with a cheeky
flick which beat Jaaskelainen from five yards.
Walcott should have made it 3-0 when he raced through
after a brilliant ball by Song but Jaaskelainen palmed
the winger's weak effort wide.
Only a crucial block from Zat Knight prevented Van
Persie from scoring his hat trick with six minutes left
before the former Feyenoord man came off to a standing
ovation when he was replaced by Marouane Chamakh.
The rout was completed two minutes from time when Bacary
Sagna's pull-back was met by Song, who cracked a wonderful
curler past Jaaskelainen to make it 3-0.
With victory now guaranteed, the home support broke
in to a chant of "there's only one Arsene Wenger''
but there were worrying scenes for the Arsenal boss
and the Gunners support at the end of the match when
Walcott pulled up and hobbled off through injury.
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