Olivier Giroud was impressed with Arsenal’s defensive display against Huddersfield on Wednesday night.
After Alexandre Lacazette put the Gunners 1-0 ahead in the fourth minute against Huddersfield, Arsene Wenger’s men took their foot off the gas and, at times, it didn’t look as if they could hold onto their narrow lead.
However, Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi were brilliant and made sure Arsenal kept a clean sheet so that when Olivier Giroud scored the second goal in the 68th minute, it was a straight-forward victory from there.
“We killed the game off in the final 25 minutes but it’s true we could have scored before, but they were always dangerous on counter attacks,” Giroud said.
“We had to be very cautious at the back and we defended very well. I thought all the defenders played very well. They didn’t let Huddersfield come out and put good pressure on the strikers. They did a great job.”
Mustafi completed 93% of his passes, won nine defensive duels, four tackles and seven interceptions. The 25-year-old also made three clearances.
The German has been in terrific form since his return from the hamstring injury he suffered while away with his national team and it’s not gone unnoticed.
Kos had a good game, winning three interceptions and three clearances himself, and Nacho Monreal was solid as always.
Petr Cech also made two crucial saves in the first half.
As Giroud says, if it hadn’t been for Arsenal’s defenders and goalkeeper, the score wouldn’t have stayed at 1-0 until the 68th minute.
The Terriers had a good go, particularly after the Gunners’ intensity dropped off after Laca’s opener, and I’m surprised they didn’t find the back of the net.