Giroud puts Gunners on goal trail
WITH a 12th successive Premier League home win secured, Arsene Wenger ventured to his feet to perform a spot of touchline ball juggling. Arsenal fans roared their approval as he collected the loose ball and showcased his fancy footwork to go with his shiny footwear before rolling it back into play. What a difference three goals in four minutes makes. Earlier, his brow had been furrowed as the home crowd was frustrated by their team’s failure to put Huddersfield to the sword. Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring inside three minutes but the visitors did not crumble. Lacazette was unable to finish the game after picking up an injury which will concern Wenger ahead of Saturday’s clash against Manchester United. Olivier Giroud came on to replace him and scored twice — either side of goals from Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil — to give the scoreline a luxury feel. Wenger was pleased with the German’s contribution. ‘We started well but then we lost our focus, and our passing. and allowed them to come back into the game,’ said the Arsenal boss. ‘Then we got the second goal and suddenly everyone played with more freedom and more technical quality — then Mesut Ozil showed what he can do.’ By the end, it was easy enough and Arsenal reinforced their position inside the top four. Huddersfield slipped behind inside three minutes, Lacazette slamming in the seventh goal of his first Premier League season. As half-time approached, however, the visitors started to break with more purpose and mild anxiety rippled around the Emirates. But, eventually, Giroud added a second. He finished off a wonderful move by tapping in at the near post. Sanchez made it 3-0 with a half-volley from Ozil’s cross and then the German added a fourth. Giroud rounded things off with his second.