Arsenal left back André Santos got a rare Premier League run out on Saturday when he replaced Kieran Gibbs in the second half of Arsenal’s 3-1 away victory against West Ham United in the afternoon’s late kick off.
Santos, 29, has found it hard to break into the Arsenal first team this season due to the impressive form of Kieran Gibbs but he was solid after his introduction and dealt with the threat of firstly Ricardo Vaz Te and then Matt Taylor with ease.
West Ham took the lead through a great Mohamed Diame goal in the first half after the midfielder skipped past Aaron Ramsey on the left hand side before curling the ball into the top corner past Vito Mannone.
The goal had come against the run of play with Arsenal having the majority of possession and the early chances. However, the Gunners equalised just before half time when Oliver Giroud scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal by prodding in Lucas Podolski’s cross.
Despite a few scares in the second half, Arsenal managed to take the lead through Theo Walcott and then late in the game Santi Carzola sealed the tie with a fantastic long-range strike that left the goalkeeper stranded.
