Whilst Arsenal hadn’t been at their fluent best, they went in to October unbeaten in the league, sitting in fourth place with 10 points from 6 games. During the month Arsenal scored 10 goals in all competitions, winning both Champions League ties, and only losing once in the league, to probable champions Chelsea.
Arsenal 4-1 Galatasaray – 1st October
Arsenal scorers (Welbeck 3, Alexis) Galatasaray scorers (Yilmaz – pen)
Danny Welbeck scored the first senior hat-trick of his career as the Gunners blew away Turkish giants Galatasaray. After losing on Matchday 1 to Dortmund the game was seen as a must win and Arsenal duly delivered, putting in their most fluent attacking display of the season. Welbeck opened the scoring in the 22nd minute slotting past Muslera, and the England international made it two soon after, capitalising on a defensive error before producing a finish that the great Thierry Henry would have been proud of. It was game over after 41 minutes, Ozil with a fine assist before Sanchez cut inside and curled one into the far corner. The pattern of play continued after the interval, and Welbeck completed his hat-trick in the 52 minute, dinking over Muslera to cap a fine evening in front of goal. The only blot on a fantastic night at the Emirates was Wojiech Szczesny’s red card. Â Despite the resulting penalty being scored though, Arsenal were never really in trouble and controlled the game throughout.
Man of the Match: Danny Welbeck- The young striker was lethal in front of goal, combining his pace and power to torment the Turkish side time and time again.
Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal – 5th October
Chelsea scorers- (Hazard – pen, Costa)
The Gunners slipped to their first league defeat of the season on a disappointing afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal made a much better start to the game than they did in the previous season but fell behind on 27 minutes. Eden Hazard tricked his way into the box before being tripped by Laurent Koscielny. He dusted himself down before slotting home the penalty. Arsenal continued to probe, and created many good openings without really testing Petr Cech in-goal. Despite this,victory was sealed on 78 minutes when Costa broke the offside trap before lobbing Szczesny to complete a fine afternoon’s work for the blues.
Man of the Match: Jack Wilshere- The most likely to create, his drive and determination from midfield spurred Arsenal on.
Arsenal 2-2 Hull City – 18th October
Arsenal scorers (Sanchez, Welbeck) Hull scorers (Diame, Hernandez)
Danny Welbeck scored a dramatic equaliser to save Arsenal blushes on another disappointing afternoon at the Emirates. The Gunners dominated the early stages and found themselves in front in the 13th minute, with the ever impressive Sanchez scoring a fine individual effort. However, the Tigers equalised almost instantly, with Diame bursting through before dinking the on rushing keeper. Controversy surrounded the goal though, as it appeared Flamini was tugged back as he was about to dispossess Diame. Hull continued to soak up the Arsenal pressure, and after the restart they took a dramatic lead, Hernandez scoring a fine back-post header. The Gunners went out in search of an equaliser, and it eventually came in the 91st minute, Alexis the provider for Welbeck who managed to stab home right at the death.
Man of the Match: Alexis- A constant menace all afternoon, he scored once and created the equaliser.
Anderlecht 1-2 Arsenal – 22nd October
Anderlecht scorer (Najar) Arsenal scorers (Gibbs, Podolski)
In what was Arsenal’s worst performance of the season to date, they somehow managed to come away with three points. After a dull first 60 minutes, Anderlecht really started to take the game by the scruff of the neck, and after creating a whole host of chances they opened the scoring on 71 minutes, Andy Najar rising to head home. With 90 minutes on the clock the Gunners still hadn’t really created a golden opportunity, but when Chambers found himself free on the right he delivered a delicious cross, which was finished fantastically by fellow full-back Kieran Gibbs. Although Arsenal had saved the game the result was still potentially damaging. With seconds left though Sanchez got to the by-line and drilled in a low cross which eventually found its way to Podolski, who finished with aplomb high into the roof of the net. It was smash and grab stuff but what a crucial win it could prove to be.
Man of the Match: Alexis- Behind all of Arsenal’s good work, he created the winner for Podolski.
Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal – 25th October
Arsenal scorers (Alexis 2)
Alexis Sanchez scored a double, which included Arsenal’s 1500th premier league goal, to give the Gunners a much-needed 2-0 win at Sunderland. Alexis opened the scoring on the half-hour, capitalising on Wes Brown’s error before racing through on goal to delicately chip former Gunner Vito Mannone. Arsenal had their work cut out in the second-half, but managed to stay defensively strong to see out the game. The win was sealed in stoppage time, when Sanchez capitalised on yet another error, this time from Mannone, to chip into the vacant net. A tough test for Wenger’s men, but one that was passed with flying colours.
Man of the Match: Alexis- Instrumental playing in the 10 role, Sanchez scored twice and worked tirelessly for the team.