Whisper it, but there were times when he even looked a little bit like... well, you know who.
Him.
The one. The man. The boss. It seems almost sacrilegious to make the
connection after such a short space of time, but they were all thinking
it, inside the Emirates Stadium. Might he be? Could he be? They all know
the last time they saw finishing like this, and they knew who was
responsible too. It just seemed all too soon to start thinking that way.
And yet, and yet. It took Thierry Henry four seasons to score his
first-hat trick for Arsenal. Danny Welbeck? Five matches.
Easy,
easy. Steady now. It was only four days ago that Welbeck was ridiculed
for swinging a boot, missing and falling over in the six-yard box
against Tottenham Hotspur, only for his blushes to be spared by Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain. Far too sudden then to compare him to one of the
greatest players of the Premier League era.
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck screams
with joy as he celebrates scoring the goal which gave him his first ever
hat-trick during his side's victory over Galatasaray Read more & see pics........................
Welbeck prods the ball past
Galatasaraay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to open the scoring for Arsenal
in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium
Alexis Sanchez gives Welbeck the
plaudits after his strike put the Gunners ahead against the Turks at the
Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening
Welbeck (centre) is congratulated by
his Arsenal team-mates after netting his first ever Champions League
goal for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday
In an almost identical finish to the
first goal, Welbeck doubles Arsenal's advantage at the Emirates with a
tidy finish past the on-coming Fernando Muslera
Welbeck completes his first-ever
hat-trick with a delightful chip over the on-rushing Galatasaraay
goalkeeper Muslera to put Arsenal 4-0 up at the Emirates Stadium
Welbeck turns to run away in
celebration as the Galatasaray goalkeeper lies on the floor having
conceded the first goal of the night at the Emirates Stadium
Welbeck's hat-trick and all-round performance evoked memories of Thierry Henry in an Arsenal shirt
Sanchez calmly slots home Arsenal's
third goal of the night as the Gunners rushed into a 3-0 lead at the
Emirates Stadium by half-time against Galatasaray
Sanchez (centre) is congratulated by
Arsenal team-mate Mesut Ozil after putting the Gunners 3-0 up against
Galatasaray at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday
Arsene Wenger celebrated his 18th anniversary as Arsenal manager by watching his side comfortably win in the Champions League
Yet
this, it is fair to say, was nothing like the worst of Welbeck. This
was more like – to hell with it – the best of Henry. It doesn’t mean
he’s as good. He’s nowhere near. Yet that pace, that purpose, that
expertise in front of goal. There was an echo, no doubt about it.
The
clinical finishing was what Louis van Gaal, and a few more at
Manchester United, thought he couldn’t do. Yet Welbeck looked every inch
the match-winning striker here, every inch the fox in the box, a player
that could one day make fans of his old club wince at the mention of
his name.
Too
early for a ‘Come home Danny Welbeck’ fly past? Probably. Welbeck may
be off and running at Arsenal, but he is still some way from making
Manchester United’s fans as regretful about losing him as they are about
the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo. Even so, with six goals in his last six
games for club and country, and Radamel Falcao still drawing a blank,
there will be a few in the north feeling a little twitchy. They are
seeing a player starting to blossom having broken free of a supporting
role at Old Trafford.
Maybe
this is what he needed after all – a run in the first team so that
every half-chance wasn’t an audition. He certainly appears more
confident in front of goal than he was for United, and his team-mates
have faith in him too. If Welbeck is on, they do not go it alone, they
seek him out, they fancy him to score. Already he looks more suited to
this group of players than he did to those at United. Self-belief is key
for goalscorers: Welbeck has it and suddenly he looks like one.
Galatasaray
simply had no answer to Welbeck’s running off the shoulder of the last
man – remind you of anyone – and his finishing, so often a weakness, was
top notch. He had this match won for Arsenal inside 30 minutes with an
outstanding display which belied the goal shy reputation that put him in
Van Gaal’s out tray.
The
Arsenal fans will note other similarities, too. Henry also came to the
club as slightly damaged goods. He had made an impression at Monaco,
flopped at Juventus, and was being used as a winger due to his
incredible pace. Wenger rescued his career – and he rescued Wenger, and
Arsenal, on more than one occasion.
Arsenal
did not need rescuing here because Galatasaray were poor. They were
three goals down inside 40 minutes, four within the hour and it would
have been more had Felipe Melo got the straight red card he deserved for
a horrific tackle on Alexis Sanchez after 35 minutes. Late, high and
two footed it was three yellow card offences rolled into a single
movement – one-and-a-half reds really – yet referee Gianluca Rocchi gave
only a booking. One wonders what level of violence he is used to
experiencing. Maybe he watches a lot of Quentin Tarantino films.
Wojciech Szczesny (left, on the ground) brings down Galatasaray forward Burak Yilmaz and gives away a second-half penalty
Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny (centre) is shown a red card after bringing down Yilmaz on the hour mark at the Emirates
Yilmaz slots home the resulting penalty to give Galatasaray a consolation goal at the Emirates Stadium
Galatasaray fans jump up and down as they set off flares in the stands at the Emirates during their loss to Arsenal
Goalkeeper Muslera picks up one of the flares thrown on to the pitch by Galatasaraay fans and tries to take it off the field
Galatasaray goalkeeper Muslera throws a
flare off the pitch after fans of the Turkish club threw several of
them on to the pitch at the Emirates
Muslera not only threw some flares off
the Emirates pitch but he also kicked some away as Turkish fans
bombarded the pitch with missiles
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