Mesut Ozil rediscovers dazzling touch as Arsenal labour to three points against West Brom at the Emirates
German has been a passenger as the Gunners' form as dropped leaving them as outside favourites to win the Premier League
THE search for Mesut Ozil is over.
He was finally found alive and well at the Emirates, appearing from nowhere to deliver the magic touch after 86 minutes.
Arsenal’s reward was the winner, expertly steered beyond the reach of Ben Foster by the forgotten man Olivier Giroud.
Keep up to date with ALL the Arsenal news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
The Arsenal crisis special is on hold. At least for a few more days.
Successive Premier League defeats - against Everton and Manchester City - have put the squeeze on Arsene Wenger.
Somehow Arsenal can still claim to be in the title race, for now.
For that they have Giroud to thank after Wenger picked him to start a Premier League game for the first time since May 15.
He scored a hat-trick that day, admittedly only against Aston Villa, but there has always been a very good player in there.
Here he scored the only goal when he “smashed" Gareth McAuley, as West Brom manager Tony Pulis called it, four minutes from time.
It was a clever move, not a dirty move.
Ozil, a passenger in the defeats at Goodison Park and the Etihad Stadium, turned up here on the edge of the box to supply the killer ball.
The feint made the difference, creating time for him to flight a left-footed ball into the area for Giroud to do what Giroud does best.
He is a terrific player.
Giroud’s celebrations, sliding to his knees in front of the Arsenal fans who stayed to the bitter end, told a own story of their own.
Before that there had been panic, terror and fear - and that was just in the stands.
The anxiety and tension is growing around the place, piling the pressure on the players as Chelsea’s title bid gathers pace.
Nobody can stop Antonio Conte’s side, certainly not Arsenal.
This victory was satisfactory, but that is about it.
When was the last time Arsenal purred?
Since the 5-1 victory at West Ham earlier this month, when everybody got carried away with them again, Arsenal have been plodding.
This was another functional, ordinary, performance.
West Brom played just as you would expect any team coached and managed by Tony Pulis to play at Arsenal.
Related Stories
They were solid, dependable and not afraid of a bit of hard graft.
For that they were almost rewarded with a point, the sort of result they probably deserved for the way they defended in spells.
McAuley and Jonny Evans, his partner in the centre of West Brom’s defence, were outstanding for the most part.
Behind them Ben Foster had the type of game that underlines his standing in the game.
With the exception of his ludicrous time-wasting - for which he was eventually booked nine minutes from the end - Foster was faultless.
It is a shame he no longer wants to be part of the England set-up because he would surely be first pick after Joe Hart.
His save from Duracell bunny Alexis Sanchez was the pick of them in the first half.
After the break West Brom's keeper was even busier.
His timing to dive at the feet of Sanchez at the start of the second half was impeccable.
By then Arsenal were shooting at will.
When Sanchez tricked his way through West Brom’s defence he hit the frame of post and bar.
Wenger was getting twitchy, making three substitutions in four minutes as he went in search of a winner.
By the time Lucas Perez, Nacho Monreal and Aaron Ramsey were on the pitch, West Brom could have been in front.
Three corners on the spin is like hitting the lottery jackpot for Pulis.
His jaw was nearly on the floor when Petr Cech, having survived the first two, failed to get hold of Chris Brunt’s inswinger.
Claudio Yacob was waiting at the far post, but the West Brom midfielder scooped his effort over the bar.
If he had scored, all hell would have broken loose around here.
The natives are getting panicky again, fearing the worst after falling so far behind Chelsea in the title race.
It would have been even worse had it not been for Giroud, making his move across McAuley to meet Ozil’s clever ball four minutes from time at a near-deserted Emirates.
As ever, there is no place like home.