Danny Welbeck showed he can be the goalscoring puts-away-the-chances striker that Arsenal need, after all, by scoring a brilliant hat-trick to lead his new team to the most comfortable and authoritative of victories against Galatasaray in their Group D Champions League match at the Emirates.
Arsenal, on Arsene Wenger's 18th anniversary as manager, were in cruise mode, and then some, after a Welbeck hat-trick and an Alexis Sanchez strike had given them a 4-0 lead early in the second half, before goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, with little to do until then, decided to get involved and make the match a touch interesting for the Galatasaray supporters.
Szczesny had his what-on-earth-were-you-thinking moment yet again, jumping to gather a through ball, but only managing to bring down Burak Yilmaz, with referee left with very little option but to show a straight red card.
Yilmaz stepped up and guided in Galatasaray's opening goal after sending David Ospina the wrong way, but that goal would be all the Turkish giants would have to show on their long return back home as Arsenal strutted their way to a comprehensive victory.
The first goal, in the 23nd minute, was a sign of things to come as Sanchez slipped in Welbeck, whose movement, against the catastrophic back-three of Galatasaray, was superlative, for the Arsenal striker to apply an astute finish.
The second goal was the kind which have made a few wonder if Welbeck can emulate a certain Arsenal legend who goes by the name of Thierry Henry -- a run into the box and the trademark Henry finish from the left channel into the bottom right corner.
Arsenal put the game to bed four minutes from halftime, as Mesut Ozil found his customary through ball, this time to Sanchez, who made no mistake with the finish either as the home side ran riot, with the Galatasaray fans making their feelings known by throwing fireworks onto the pitch, forcing skipper Wesley Sneijder and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to try and calm their faithful down.
If Galatasaray were going to stand even the slightest of chances of staging a comeback, they needed to score an early second half goal, but the fourth goal of the game came Arsenal's way as Welbeck showed his finishing prowess yet again, latching onto a through ball from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, before wonderfully lifting the ball over Muslera to complete his hat-trick.
The game was done and dusted by then, with Szczesny's rush of blood a minor blot in what was otherwise the near-perfect home Champions League performance.
Arsenal vs Galatasaray 4-1 All Goals... by imidzs24lmno
