EPL: Arsenal 5-0 Huddersfield Town

Mesut Ozil stars as Gunners run riot

Arsenal scored four second half goals to seal an emphatic 5-0 Premier League win against Huddersfield at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger’s men went into the game looking to maintain their place in the top four of the table and keep the pressure on the sides above them. And, while they dominated the majority of the first half, they only had an early Alexandre Lacazette goal to show for their efforts at half-time.

But they turned on the style after the break with substitute Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil adding to the score to put a flattering look on the scoreline. A 12th successive league home win for the Gunners keeps them fourth, while Huddersfield are down in 14th spot on 15 points.

Arsenal enjoyed a dream start when they took the lead after just three minutes when Aaron Ramsey’s clever backheel flick played in Lacazette and he slipped his effort past Jonas Lossl inside the near post.

Arsenal continued to look comfortable with their early lead with Huddersfield’s first opportunity coming in the 23rd minute when Chris Lowe’s cross was met by Zanka who could only direct his header over the top. The Gunners went close again on 31 minutes when Lacazette lifted the ball over Lossl from a tight angle down the left only for Martin Cranie to clear his effort off the line and Sead Kolasinac fired the rebound over the top.

Huddersfield had a hopeful penalty shout on 37 minutes when Steve Mounie went down under a challenge from Shkodran Mustafi, but it looked a correct decision from referee Graham Scott to wave away the appeals.

Arsenal went close to going two-up three minutes into the second half when Sanchez did well to tee up Ozil in the area but his effort from 10 yards out is blocked by Cranie. Moments later the Terriers had their best chance of the game when Collin Quaner got a sight of goal only to be denied by the outstretched foot of Petr Cech.

On 54 minutes Mounie’s attempt to cross the ball into the Arsenal area took a deflection off Nacho Monreal and looped towards goal with Cech pushing the ball off his own crossbar when trying to see it behind. Giroud should have handed the Gunners a two-goal cushion on 59 minutes when he was played into the area by Ramsey and went past Lossl only to see his effort from a tight angle hit the post, before he then fired the rebound wide.

Arsenal wrapped up the win with an amazing spell in which they scored three goals in the space of four minutes.

On 68 minutes Ozil combined with Sanchez before putting the ball on a plate for Giroud to score from close range, before Sanchez made it 3-0 within a minute as he swept home an Ozil cross from the right.

And Ozil got in on the act on 72 minutes when he was played in by Ramsey before coolly lifting his effort over the advancing Lossl to make it 4-0. Giroud should have grabbed his second and Arsenal’s fifth on 84 minutes when he was teed up by Kolasinac but fired over the top from just six yards.

But the Frenchman did get another three minutes from time when he took the ball off the feet of Kolasinac after he had worked his way into the penalty area and fired in from close range.