Iwobi scores as Arsenal bounce back with win at Huddersfield

Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette gave Arsenal an unconvincing 2-1 win at Huddersfield to keep their top-four chase on track.

Iwobi opened the scoring against the run of play when his deflected effort from Sead Kolasinac’s cross was palmed into the corner of his net by Ben Hamer (16).

Huddersfield controlled possession for large periods of the game but nothing would fall for them inside the Arsenal area, and instead Lacazette doubled the lead just before half-time when turning in Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ low cross from close range (44).

The spirited hosts, who had lost 11 of their last 12, never gave up and finally got their reward in the third minute of added time in the second half when Kolasinac turned Adama Diakhaby’s shot into his own goal, but it was not enough to stop Arsenal pulling back within a point of fourth-placed Manchester United.

Arsenal arrived looking to arrest a run of three away defeats in a row, but found Diakhaby’s raw pace in behind Kolasinac tough to deal with early on.

The familiar problem of a poor final ball still dogged the hosts however, and instead Arsenal went ahead with their first real chance when Kolasinac’s excellent cross was met on the half-volley by Iwobi, but a deflection off Kongolo wrong-footed Hamer who could only push the ball inside the side netting.

Huddersfield failed to register a shot on target before half-time but looked like having something to build on with the break approaching, until their hopes were dashed a minute before the interval when Maitland-Niles found space on the right with Kongolo out of position, and his low ball in left Lacazette an easy finish.

After the break Huddersfield looked more dangerous but were close to getting caught out again as they committed men forward, with Iwobi denied by the onrushing Hamer and Christopher Schindler’s excellent challenge stopping Lacazette from scoring his second.

At the other end, Diakhaby forced smart saves from Bernd Leno with two efforts from the edge of the area and substitute Erik Durm’s cross was deflected onto the bar.

But just as the hosts looked to see their hard work and improvement on recent performances unrewarded, Leno failed to deal with another Diakhaby effort which bounced off him and goalwards, only for Kolasinac to poke it into his own goal under pressure from Laurent Depoitre.

-Sky Sports