A half-time frown on Arsene Wenger’s face was a fully fledged smile by the time the final whistle had blown at the Emirates Stadium in London this evening as his side claimed another three points. Arsenal started the brighter side and should have gone ahead through Andrey Arshavin who was teed up by Tomas Rosicky, but the Russian somehow hit the Bolton ‘keeper with the goal gaping. The home side got their just reward for their fine play on 24 minutes, however it came in contrast to their silky play. Jack Wilshere floated in a lovely free-kick to the area, cue some mayhem in the Bolton defence, and a tap-in for summer signing Laurent Koscielny. However, the new man’s joy was short lived as his terrible defensive header gave the ball straight to Lee Chong-yong who squared for Johan Elmander to slot home the equalizer. 1-1 at the break. The second half again saw Arsenal get off to a flyer and their pressure finally paid off when Maroune Chamakh fired home a bullet header to put the Gunners in front. The Moroccan was rewarded with a crunching tackle from Gary Cahill minutes later, which saw the Bolton man receive a red card. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Alex Song gave the Gunners a two goal lead, before Mexican Carlos Vela added a fourth minutes later to assure all three points were secured. Another “bogey” team defeated by the Gunners, on the day Arsenal scored their 1,000 goal under Wenger’s guidance. Sebastian Squallaci had a fine debut in defence, and looked far more assured than his colleague Koscielny. Calls will be made for Squallaci to partner Thomas Vermaelen when the Belgian returns from injury. The Gunners have accumulated 10 points from a possible 12 so far this season, a draw away to Liverpool on the opening day, coupled with three straight wins against the three “B’s” Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton. With Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City all dropping points today, the season is starting well for Wenger’s charges.
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