“He scores when he wants!
“He scores when he waaaaaants...
“Danny Welbeck! He scores when he wants!”
The tune reverberated through the rafters of the Emirates Stadium, showering Danny Welbeck with deserved praise after he nailed his first hat-trick at the senior level in tonight’s Champions League match against Galatasaray.
It was a sensational display for the new Arsenal man, who finished brilliantly on each of his three goals. The first came just 22 minutes into play when Welbeck pointed beyond the Galatasaray defense and Alexis Sanchez slipped a perfect pass for the striker to stab past Fernando Muslera.
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Eight minutes later it was clever anticipation by Welbeck ,who launched into a sprint when Aurelien Chedjou misjudged his header. Dribbling 40 yards, Welbeck flew past Felipe Melo and again beat Muslera low and to the corner.
After a clinical strike by Sanchez handed Arsenal a third before halftime, Welbeck found his hat-trick in the 52nd minute when, yet again, he searched out the space behind the Gala centerbacks and latched on to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s weighted pass. Muslera charged hard but Welbeck’s carefully dinked his effort over the Uruguayan keeper and it was off to the corner flag to celebrate the milestone.
The feats makes Welbeck only the sixth Englishman to score a hat-tick in the Champions League, joining Mike Newell, Andy Cole, Michael Owen, Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.