Welbeck shows star quality with hat-trick to crush Galatasaray

This was Welbeck's time: not his first goals for his new club but the first occasion when it has been all about him, and on a Champions League night too when Old Trafford lay shuttered and empty.

It was an evening which told Welbeck that he could be the striker that Arsenal hope he will be. Granted, the level of the opposition was low, and Galatasaray were in chaos for the first hour before Wojciech Szczesny blundered into Burak Yilmaz, got himself sent off and gave the visitors some semblance of parity for the final half-hour.

But not even a moment of Szczesny madness could spoil the evening for Welbeck, whose goals were, in the simplest terms, a run and lunge, a one-on-one and a dink. Of all of them it was the second that will stand out for him. In the past it has been those occasions when his pace has got him clear with just a goalkeeper to beat that Welbeck's finishing has let him down. Not this time.

There was a goal for Alexis Sanchez too, the third of Arsenal's four and later the Chile international had to be called to the bench to allow Colombian reserve goalkeeper David Ospina to face Burat Yilmaz's penalty after Szczesny's red card. He did not save that one, but Ospina looked more than capable later on in the game.

Resplendent in an away kit that looked like the colour scheme for a room in Phil Spector's Los Angeles mansion, Galatasaray turned out to be little more than a purple haze for Arsenal, befuddled and divided before half-time.

Led by former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, you might have expected a more coherent performance from the leading Turkish team in the competition but their tactical naïvety was staggering at times. Prandelli looked to have abandoned his three-man defence by half-time and by then they were already in ruins anyway.

There was far too much room for Arsenal's penalty-box magicians to weave their way through from the 'D'. Mesut Ozil in particular was free to drift in and out, finding the spaces between defenders and looking to establish shooting opportunities for his team mates. Welbeck's first goal on 22 minutes was a marvellous back-to-front move that started with Laurent Koscielny in his own half and moved on via Kieran Gibbs to Sanchez on the left. He cut in and slotted a nifty ball round the corner for Welbeck to run onto and finish. Not for the last time, he left Felipe Melo trailing behind him.

Brazilian defender Melo had a disastrous first half and should have been sent off for a two-footed lunge at Sanchez that defied belief for its recklessness and stupidity. Before that he was well beaten again by Welbeck before the half-hour for the second goal. Koscielny won an easy header from a goal-kick, Aurelien Chedjou headed it wildly back towards his own goal and Welbeck out-muscled Melo to get the run in on goal.

This was a fine finish, as he headed the ball sharply down into his path, took it in his stride, looked goalkeeper Fernando Muslera in the eyes and put a shot past him.

Astutely

Welbeck might have had a hat-trick on 33 minutes when Ozil stunned the ball astutely into his team-mate's path but the young striker could not get the curve on his shot. Five minutes before the break, Arsenal struck again. It came from a Per Mertesacker interception and a ball upfield to the dangerous Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who gave the ball short to Ozil, who found Sanchez on the left side. He cut in on his right foot and beat Muslera into the far corner.

Arsenal's fourth goal, six minutes after half-time was their best of the match. They started the move on their left, where Welbeck was initially involved before a diagonal run took him into the area. The ball was worked intricately to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who slipped the ball through to Welbeck, who gently lifted it over Muslera.

Humiliation was prevented by Szczesny's dramatic penalty area rush to get the ball from Yilmaz's feet. He missed by some margin, brought the striker down and could have no complaints about the red card.

In his place Ospina made a number of good saves as Galatasaray pressed in the final stages. The watching Roy Hodgson was given a glimpse of Jack Wilshere, who came on late. He and Tomas Rosicky, another substitute, helped to shore up Arsenal as best they could. The excellent Santi Cazorla had a shot kicked out of the goalmouth late by Semih Kaya.

This was one Szczesny-related problem that Arsenal could deal with. Welbeck had taken care of that. (© Independent News Service)