Arsenal have moved up to fifth place in the Premier League table thanks to a resounding 5-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at the Emirates Stadium.
Aexandre Lacazette opened the scoring for the Gunners in the third minute, but the match remained 1-0 until after the hour mark.
Substitute Olivier Giroud doubled the home side's lead with 68 on the clock and added another four minutes from time, with goals from Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil sandwiched between his brace.
Find out how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's text commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to our live text coverage of the Premier League showdown between Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at the Emirates Stadium. David Wagner's side are in for a tough test against a team eager to consolidate their position in the Champions League places. Team news coming up...
ARSENAL XI: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac; Ramsey, Xhaka; Ozil, Sanchez; Lacazette
HUDDERSFIELD XI: Lossl; Hadergjonaj, Zanka, Schindler, Lowe; Hogg, Mooy, Cranie, Quaner; Mounie, Kachunga
Starting with the hosts Arsenal, the big news to come out of that lineup is the return of midfield maestro Mesut Ozil. The Germany international missed the weekend's trip to Burnley through illness, but is back in action tonight, replacing the injured Alex Iwobi in the first XI.
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That's the only change Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has made from the side that won 1-0 at Burnley. Lacazette spearheads the attack, playing off Ozil and Sanchez, with Kolasinac and Bellerin adding the width. Two midfielders will sit deep in front of a back three.
Over to Huddersfield, and manager David Wagner has made sweeping changes from the side that pushed Manchester City all the way during a 2-1 defeat. Elias Kachunga, Martin Cranie, Chris Lowe, Collin Quaner, Steve Mouni and Florent Hadergjonaj are all back in the starting XI tonight.
It looks like your standard 4-4-2 for the Terriers, with Mounie partnering Kachunga up front. German forward Quaner will make his first Premier League start tonight, taking on an attacking midfield role, alongside Hogg, Mooy and Cranie.
This is sure to be a tough test for Huddersfield. Arsenal may be inconsistent on the road, but they are unbeaten in their last 13 home matches, and 11 of those were wins, putting them just two consecutive victories away from the club record that dates back to 2005.
For the Gunners, tonight's match marks an opportunity to win three league games in a row for the first time this season, and they have a good chance of pulling that off. They have kept nine clean sheets during their 13-match unbeaten run at home.
They will be looking to Alexis Sanchez for inspiration tonight. Although the Chilean is forever being linked with a move away from the Emirates, he never lets his team down against newly-promoted opposition, having racked up 13 goals and four assists against Premier League newcomers during his Arsenal career.
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Huddersfield are having a tough time on their travels at the moment. They've lost their last three on the road and conceded nine goals in the process. To make matters worse, they haven't scored in six consecutive away games in all competitions, a goalless run that clocks in at nine hours, 12 minutes and counting.
Wagner's men made a positive start to life in the top flight, winning their first two matches, but they have only won two in 11 since then. There were, however, plenty of positives for him to draw from their spirited performance against City last weekend, even though they lost the game 2-1.
There isn't too much shared history between these two clubs since they were last in the same division in 1971-72. Arsenal got the double over Huddersfield that season and the only time the Terriers have beaten today's opponents in 15 attempts came during a 2-1 win the season before that.
The last time these two met came in an FA Cup fourth round tie in 2011. Huddersfield were a League One side back then, but they put up a fight, eventually going down 2-1 to Arsene Wenger's side.
If Huddersfield pull off a surprise win tonight they will become the first newly-promoted side to beat Arsenal and Manchester United in the same season since Peter Reid's Sunderland in 1996-97.
An away win is a big ask that flies in the face of the form guide, but it's not impossible. If Huddersfield can keep Sanchez quiet that's half the battle when it comes to keeping a clean sheet, and if they can get players in behind Ramsey and Xhaka on the counter, Arsenal's back three could find themselves exposed.
PREDICTION: There's just minutes to go until kick off now, so it's time for a prediction. I'm going with a 2-1 win for the hosts. Given the form both sides are in and Arsenal's home advantage, I can't see a shock being on the cards, but Huddersfield will make Wenger's men work for the win, like they did with City at the weekend.
Just minutes to go until kick off. Will Arsenal consolidate their position in the Champions League place or crash to a shock defeat? Stay turned to find out...
KICK OFF! Huddersfield get the game underway and they will be kicking from right to left in the fist half. They get the ball into the Arsenal box right from the off, but the move breaks down when an offside flag goes up against Elias Kachunga. An adventurous start by the visitors.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town (Alexandre Lacazette)
Arsenal storm into the lead with their first attack. The Gunners launch a swift counter, the ball eventually finding its way to Aaron Ramsey in the final third, and his deft flick sends Alexandre Lacazette clean through on goal. With only Jonas Lossl to beat, the Frenchman thumps a low drive into the back of the net!
Huddersfield changed their system to a flat 4-4-2 tonight to try and keep Arsenal at bay, but on the early evidence, it's proven ineffective. Their defence was caught ball-watching while Arsenal broke at pace. It was far too easy for the on-form Lacazette to put the ball away unchallenged.
No real talking points since Arsenal took the lead, so here's an interesting stat about Lacazette to mull over. What a start he has made to his Premier League career!
5 - No player has scored more home @premierleague goals than Alexandre Lacazette this season. Emirati. pic.twitter.com/LIO7HYKqhs — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 29, 2017
It's mostly been Arsenal in the early stages of this contest, with the Gunners holding possession and passing the ball around nicely, but they just allowed Huddersfield to venture into their half. Collin Quaner gains possession out wide and swings a cross into the penalty area, forcing Cech to come racing off his line to collect.
Nothing in the way of goalmouth action to report these past few minutes, but Arsenal almost a found an opening a moment ago as Kolasinac cut inside the penalty area from out wide, only to give the ball away. Xhaka is having a good game in midfield. Almost every one of the Gunners' moves have involved him in some way.
Arsenal are stringing plenty of passes together, but they aren't doing a great deal with it. A neat team move involving Lacazette, Bellerin and Ozil in the Huddersfield half is easy on the eye, but the latter loses the ball before it reaches the opposition's penalty area. At the other end, hesitance from Mustafi puts Cech under pressure, but the Gunners keeper is quick off his line to clear.
There's a half-chance for Huddersfield as Lowe's free kick finds the head of Zanka in the box, but his effort was rising from the moment the ball connected with his head, going over for a goalkick. That's as close as the Terriers have come, but in all fairness, Arsenal have created nothing besides that goal.
Arsenal win a free kick in a good position as Zanka clatters into Ramsey. Ozil steps up to take it, but gets no power behind it, allowing the Huddersfield defence to clear its lines easily. Moments later, a blistering run from Lacazette puts the visitors under intense pressure, but a last-ditch tackle from Schindler snuffs out the danger.
On the whole, it's been uninspiring from Arsenal. They've had loads of possession and shown little creativity. The Gunners need to get Alexis Sanchez into the game more.
CLOSE! Arsenal go in search of a second through Lacazette, who races into the box and attempts to round Lossl. The Huddersfield goalkeeper races off his line and forces the Frenchman wide, but the striker thinks fast and chips the ball across the face of goal where Kolasinac is lurking. Cranie is Huddersfield's saviour, getting in there first and hacking the ball off the line!
Huddersfield have started to venture forward now and gaps are opening up in the Arsenal defence. Kachunga has just run at the Gunners' back three and sent them scrambling around haphazardly. If the Terriers striker had any support there, the visitors could have carved Arsenal open.
GREAT TACKLE! A brave, last-ditch challenge from Koscielny keeps Arsenal's lead intact. Mounier's ball over the top finds the Arsenal defence ball-watching and almost puts Quaner clean through on goal. The Terriers forward takes a touch and is about to let fly when Koscielny slides in and absorbes the brunt of the shot.
Arsene Wenger cuts an intense figure on the touchline. He doesn't look too please even though his side are in the lead, and you can't really blame him. They've shown little creativity and looked disorganised at the back when Huddersfield have ventured into their half.
There will be a minimum of one minute's stoppage time to play.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
An early goal from Alexandre Lacazette has put Arsenal in front at the halfway point of their Premier League clash with Huddersfield Town, but that's about the only talking point from the first period.
The Gunners claimed 69% of the possession in the first period, but did little with the ball in the Huddersfield half. Although the visitors have only registered three shots on goal to Arsenal's six so far, the hosts have looked shaky at the back every time their opponents have pressed forward.
David Wagner will be looking to exploit that in the second period and will no doubt be keen to avoid more park-the-bus tactics with his team trailing. Wenger in the opposite dressing room is probably giving his defenders the hairdryer treatment for their disorganisation.
If the scoreline remains this way, Arsenal will move up to third place in the Premier League table and be just one win shy of equalling their club record for consecutive home wins. That was 15 on the spin, set in 2005.
KICK OFF: The match is back underway and Arsenal have made a change at the break, throwing on Giroud for Lacazette, which suggests we're going to see some more direct football from them in the second period.
CHANCE! Alexis Sanchez has barely been in the match at all, but it's good vision from the Chilean that sets up a shooting opportunity for Ozil inside the box. The Germany international curls a shot towards goal, but Cranie tracks back and makes a good block.
CHANCES! End-to-end action ensues at the Emirates. First Quaner tanks his way through the Arsenal backline, leaving his marker Monreal behind, and lets fly. Petr Cech sees it late but gets down quickly to save with his legs. At the other end, it takes a desperate challenge from Schindler to put off Giroud in front of goal.
CROSSBAR! Technically speaking, Arsenal have just hit their own crossbar. Kachunga does well to square a pass to Mounie in the box and his strike partner lets fly. The shot takes a huge reflection off Monreal and is dipping goalwards. Cech rise high and palms the ball against his own crossbar and over for a corner.
All credit to Huddersfield. They saw vulnerability in this Arsenal side during the first half and have taken the game to them in the second. They've edged the game since the break and look the more likely to claim the next goal as thing stand.
SITTER! Ramsey threads a through-ball to Giroud and the Frenchman rounds Lossl, only to hit the post rather than the back of the net when faced with an open goal. In fairness to the forward, the angle was slightly tight, but he should have put that away after doing the hard part effortlessly.
BOOKING! The first yellow card of the game is shown to Mooy for a late challenge on Xhaka as Arsenal attempt a swift break. It's otherwise been an even-tempered affair tonight.
Sanchez gets into a good position in the Huddersfield half, but is dispossessed in the next instant. The Terriers break and eventually float a cross into the box which Mounier heads towards goal, only to put his effort straight at Cech with little power behind it. Mounier's finish was wanting but this is encouraging stuff from the visitors nonetheless.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Huddersfield Town (Olivier Giroud)
Arsenal have been below par for much of this match, but they've just doubled their lead. Super sub Olivier Giroud slots home from close range after Ozil exchanges passes with Sanchez and squares the ball to the Frenchman in front of goal. He was never going to miss from there!
GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Huddersfield Town (Alexis Sanchez)
It's two in as many minutes and three overall for the Gunners, who are starting to turn Huddersfield inside out now. Ozil is the creator once again, swinging in a cross from wide on the right which Sanchez smashes behind Lossl and into the back of the net!
GOAL! Arsenal 4-0 Huddersfield Town (Mesut Ozil)
Where are all these Arsenal goals coming from? After struggling to create in front of goal during the first period, they forced open the floodgates in the second, this time through Ozil, who collects a pass from Ramsey and chips the ball over Lossl to make it 4-0 to the hosts. Two assists and a goal for Ozil. Not a bad shift for him!
It's been a whirlwind four minutes for Arsenal, and during that time, they've turned what was looking like a slender win into an absolute rout. Huddersfield don't know what has hit them! For the most part it was that man Ozil, who has put in a man-of-the-match performance this evening.
Arsenal have dramatically improved in the second half and they don't look content with 4-0. Xhaka gains possession in the final third, races forward and lets fly, skying his effort. At the rate there goals are flying in, you can't blame the man for having a pop.
Ozil continues to be something from the Huddersfield players' worst nightmares. The Germany international dances towards the penalty area from out wide an squares a low pass to Kolasinac. He in turn picks out Giroud in the box, only to watch his teammate put his shot into the stand under pressure.
GOAL! Arsenal 5-0 Huddersfield Town (Olivier Giroud)
That must have been some half-time teamtalk from Wenger! Arsenal net their fifth through Giroud, who nets his second of the match after Kolasinac ghosts his way around the penalty area and chips a lofted pass to the Frenchman in front of goal. It's another tap-in for the substitute.
There will be at least three minutes of stoppage time to play.
FULL TIME: Arsenal 5-0 Huddersfield Town
A sublime performance in the final half hour of the match has helped Arsenal demolish Huddersfield Town at the Emirates. Aexandre Lacazette opened the scoring early on, before an Olivier Giroud brace with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez goals sandwiched completed the rout.
Huddersfield gave a good account of themselves for much of the contest, but collapsed around the 68th minute mark when Ozil and co turned on the style. The result moves Arsenal up to third place in the table and extends their unbeaten home run to 14 matches.
That's all we have time for at the Emirates, but stick with Sports Mole for our ongoing coverage of tonight's big games, including the fallout from this very match. Many thanks for joining us.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
