Danny Welbeck netted his first goal in an Arsenal shirt as
he helped his side to romp to a 3-0 victory against an illness blighted Aston
Villa side.
The former Manchester United striker set up the Gunners’
first goal and tucked in a cross from the left to ensure his side relinquished
any symptoms of a hangover following their midweek defeat in the Champions League.
The first half hour was an even contest with the Villa midfield
battling well with their more experienced opponents as they looked to build on
their excellent start to the season. But on 32 minutes a defence, which had
only conceded one goal in four games, was made to look very ordinary.
Welbeck left the Villa back four completely flat with an
inch perfect pass which sent Mesut Ozil clear on the left of the area and the
German finished coolly one on one with ‘keeper Brad Guzan.
Two minutes later, with Villa still reeling, Arsenal struck
again as Ozil turned provider. His cross from the left hand side was met by
Welbeck on the six yard line to steer in his first goal for the Gunners to ease
the pressure from his critics after missing good chances in his previous two
matches.
On 36 minutes, the game was over as Arsenal crushed any hopes
of a Villa comeback after defender Aly Cissokho turned a Kieran Gibbs shot from
the left hand side into his own net.
In the second half, the Londoners looked the more likely to
score as Villa embarked on a damage limitation exercise but both goalkeepers had
little to do as the players failed to create any clear-cut chances.
After the match, manager Paul Lambert said his team were ‘running
on empty’ after being decimated by a bug which had swept through the training
complex all week.
Defender Nathan Baker and striker Darren Bent pulled out
before the game while midfielder Ashley Westwood was struck down after being sick
during the warm up and striker Andreas Weimann was substituted after he was
sick at half time.
“We’ve had so much bad luck this week and before the game,”
said Lambert. ”It’s a tough game when everyone is fit but after what happened
this week and this morning, the lads are running on empty.
“I’ll probably shut the training ground for a day or two to
try and eradicate the problem.”
Despite the defeat, the Villa boss was quick to praise his
players for their excellent start to the season.
“I’m delighted with the start we have had. Ten points in
five games is a good return so we go on to the next game.”
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said he was pleased with his team’s
response after the midweek 2 -0 defeat by Borussia Dortmundin the Champions
League and delighted that new signing Danny Welbeck scored his debut goal.
“I think Danny’s performance was very good today. He kept
the ball well and had a good all round game for a central striker.”
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