Football Danny Welbeck heads Arsenal to win over West Brom Published on 29/11/2014 at 15:36 Carrie Dunn @carriesparkle Premier League, The Hawthorns - West Brom 0 Arsenal 1 England striker Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game, but Arsenal were once again hit by injuries as they beat West Brom 1-0 at the Hawthorns. He headed home on the hour, converting a beautiful cross from Santi Cazorla on the left to which Ben Foster could only get his fingertips. Arsenal began with Welbeck on the left, Alexis Sanchez on the right, with Cazorla just behind Olivier Giroud leading the line. With such an attack-minded line-up, it was no wonder that the visitors dominated the first half, with Cazorla trying his luck from range several times, and Aaron Ramsey seizing possession on the edge of the box only to drag his shot wide. But Arsenal were forced into yet another change after 23 minutes as Nacho Monreal limped off to be replaced by Kieran Gibbs, increasing the current injury list to 11. West Brom failed to force Emiliano Martinez into any kind of save until the final quarter of the match, when they piled on the pressure, but their efforts amounted to nothing. KEY MOMENTS 26’ - CHANCE! Great ball from Ramsey on the right and terrific run from Welbeck to get in the centre, and his shot is blocked by Foster. 27’ - CONFUSED! Wheres Foster gone? Racing out of the hutch and controls it badly, and Giroud hits it with his left foot, skimming across the face of goal and nobody there to tap home. 37’ - WIDE! Arsenal are closing down well - Mulumbu runs around in circles on the edge of the box and Sanchez grabs the ball off him. Ramseys shot is disappointingly wide. 60’ - GOAL! Danny Welbeck heads home despite Foster getting fingers to it, after a great little run from Cazorla, going past Wisdom and delivering the ball beautifully to his team-mate’s head. 69’ - NO PENALTY! Danny Welbeck thinks he should be awarded a penalty, sandwiched between two men on the edge of the box. Chris Foy disagrees. 90’ - NO EQUALISER! And a sizzling shot from Gardner, taking a minor deflection out for a corner. KEY STATISTICS Arsenal prevent three consecutive Premier League losses, and back-to-back away losses. They have 11 points fewer than they had at this stage last season, with half (5) the number of wins they managed at this stage of the season (10). It is their joint-worst points tally after 13 matches (20) of a Premier League season since 1994/95, when they managed 19. West Brom have not won any of the last 18 Premier League home matches where they have conceded the opening goal (nine defeats) – since their 2-1 home win v Swansea in March 2013. TALKING POINT What on earth is going on in Arsenal’s training sessions? Its hardly news that Arsenal are so susceptible to injuries but this is getting ridiculous. Fitness problems consistently undermine Wenger and his team and something must be done. MATCHCAST – WEST BROM V ARSENAL: AS IT HAPPENED MAN OF THE MATCH Santi Cazorla (Arsenal): If only for that beautiful bit of play that led to the goal. PLAYER RATINGS West Brom: Foster 7, Wisdom 6, Lescott 6, Dawson 6, Pocognoli 6, Gardner 7, Mulumbu 6, Brunt 6, Dorrans 6, Sessegnon 6, Berahino 6. Subs - Gamboa 6, Baird, Anichebe 6, Samaras 6. Arsenal: Martinez 6, Chambers 7, Mertesacker 6, Koscielny 6, Monreal 5, Flamini 6, Ramsey 7, Welbeck 7, Alexis 7, Cazorla 8, Giroud 8. Subs - Gibbs 7, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7..
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:20:38 +0000
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