Premier League - Arsenal brush aside Baggies

Eurosport - Wed, 04 Mar 10:20:00 2009

A brace from Nicklas Bendtner gave Arsenal a resounding 3-1 victory over West Brom at the Hawthorns in the Premier League.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Arsenal players celebrate - 0

Bendtner broke the deadlock inside the opening five minutes, before Chris Brunt equalised with a free kick driven straight through a non-existent Arsenal wall.

Kolo Toure regained the Gunners' lead in the 38th minute with a header from Andrei Arshavin's excellent delivery, with Bendtner effectively ending the contest on the stroke of half time with his second, and Arsenal's third.

Arsene Wenger surprisingly partnered Arshavin and Bendtner in attack, with Robin van Persie confined to the bench, but his decision was vindicated as early as the fourth minute.

Bendtner cut inside Gianni Zuiverloon and slotted past Scott Carson to open the scoring after being afforded far too much space on the edge of the box.

The Baggies were not deterred and hit back after Luke Moore was hauled down by Johan Djourou, with Chris Brunt drilling the subsequent free-kick under a hapless Arsenal wall in the 11th minute.

Bendtner squandered a clear-cut chance to regain Arsenal's lead minutes later when the striker beat the home side's offside trap before blasting the ball over the bar.

Arshavin almost beat Carson with a venemous strike from the edge of the area after cutting inside Paul Robinson in the 24th minute - and that was just the start of a frustrating night in front of goal for the Russian.

Ryan Donk mis-directed a point-blank header in the Arsenal box after Brunt had whipped in a pin-point corner, but the defender's contact was tame as Manuel Almunia watched his effort drift wide.

Donk was then made to pay after his opposite number Toure headed home from a superb pin-point delivery whipped in by Arshavin in the 38th minute; it was the defender's last meaningful action before having to be replaced by Abou Diaby at half time.

Bendtner then capitalised on some slack marking from Donk just before half-time, drifting wide but still managing to lash his shot home to regain his side's lead - which was the very least that their efforts deserved.

The second half was largely notable for Arshavin's abundance of skill and creativity, but sheer inability to convert what could easily have been a hat-trick, as he squandered numerous chances.

The Russian combined crisply with his strike partner in the 53d minute, before tamely stroking his shot into the body of the diving Carson.

Two minutes later, the forward jinked his way into the Baggies' box with delightful footwork, but again stabbed his shot poorly with the goal at his mercy.

It was then Bendtner's turn to rue his luck after striking Carson's far post with a fierce strike from the edge of an unprotected West Brom penalty area.

Moore continued to look bright for the hosts, but developed a frustrating habit of straying offside, which infuriated his manager Tony Mowbray, especially given his abundance of pace.

As the second half slowly petered out, Wenger took the opportunity to introduce Aaron Ramsey and Fran Merida, as the abject home fans streamed out of the exits.

The victory moved Arsenal to within three points of fourth-placed Aston Villa, having played a game more, while Mowbray's side remained four points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Dan Quarrell / Eurosport

Comment 24 - 43 of 43

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  1. Bendtner Is looking Fresh,

    From aishat.abba, on Fri 6 Mar 2:20PM

  2. Tilde - i dont need to go up the road to the dingles -­ seems like youre already up there! call yourself a­ supporter - you aint got a clue - go on sod off, us­ true baggies dont need you!

    From Alan C, on Wed 4 Mar 10:22PM

  3. yes i do agree with you comment #24. Gael clichy is the­ best left back arsenal have ever had. But you need­ 'to remember gael is one of does player who­ aren't confident of the abilities. And to rate­ Clichy, he is great at what he does, and a very strong­ left wing as well. But he needs to capitalize on that.­ Just like every other wing back ( carlos, johnson,­ bosingwa and etc).

    From charles, on Wed 4 Mar 7:23PM

  4. Bendtner may have scored two goals to redeem his­ reputation, and he may be a young hopeful for the­ future; but he still does not deserve a first team­ place. He lacks some of the basics of a good striker. I­ do rate him, but he does not deserve a place in the­ first 11 ahead of either Adebayor or Van persie.­ However i doubt Arsene Wenger will show him the door­ because of the promise he has shown.

    From nikkmartnedita, on Wed 4 Mar 6:27PM

  5. Can't hear much boinging at the moment!!

    From Boddo, on Wed 4 Mar 5:27PM

  6. Alan C, there you go again we know you are related to­ Peace and Mowbray when they go please go with them you­ liberal A###hole, now you are telling someone who pays­ a lot of hard earned money they cannot show their­ displeasure during a game, what is the point of doing­ it after the game everyone has gone home Sherlock,­ seeing how the fans pay their salary then they work for­ the fans so as a boss of these underachieving so called­ players,i and all other fans have every right to boo­ them hoping clueless Mowbray will hear and yank him off­ to give us a better chance of victory, so if the booing­ upsets him oh how sad, in the real world piss poor­ performances by people get them fired, but i suppose­ being a Liberal a###hole you would probably feel for­ his rights and give him a raise, why dont you go up the­ road and join the dingles at the Molineux dip sh#t.­ "UP THE BAGGIES"

    From tildesleym, on Wed 4 Mar 5:24PM

  7. Considering half our team is missing we aren't­ doing too bad, imagine we'd had Rossicky, Eduardo,­ Fabregas, Adebayor and our pace man Walcott. We might­ be contending for top spot! Also so many other players­ have missed 1-3 games from niggling injuries. We need­ to toughen up a bit I fear.

    From Matt, on Wed 4 Mar 11:15AM

  8. To all those so called albion supporters who boo'd­ Meite during the game you are a disgrace! I know he has­ not been playing well but to boo him during the game is­ out of order - you may have well have been wearing an­ arsenal shirt! Make your feelings known at the end of­ the game not during!

    From Alan C, on Wed 4 Mar 11:01AM

  9. It's really good to have our team scoring and­ winning again. We lost the last season bcos of too many­ draws and injuries. One win = 3 drawn matches, so to­ get us back to CL, WE HAVE TO STOP DRAWING­ MATCHES.
    Bendtner keep it up.

    From ikwue, on Wed 4 Mar 10:13AM

  10. come back early adebayor and show that kid how the­ real­ goal machine works!..... are you having a laugh­ #27.... adebayor a goal machine.... hahaha! thats a­ good'un

    From doggs, on Wed 4 Mar 9:41AM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I am ready for u ..... love --- bill ionaire ro manc e­ C om---- Check my fotos

    From , on Wed 4 Mar 9:32AM

  12. Great to see the Gunners back to winning ways, they­ will be there in the end. Please stop raving about­ Bentner. One swallow and all that. He isnt good enough­ we need a class striker and better luck with­ injuries.
    A good win in Rome, Villa lose at City and we­ are back on track.

    DannyBas

    From daniel.basden, on Wed 4 Mar 9:22AM

  13. where as old houdine now please mr peace make him­ dissapeare (from a very dissapointed WBA fan of 50yrs)

    From Alan, on Wed 4 Mar 8:44AM

  14. Well done Gunners with this attitude we can hope of­ getting CL next year well done boyz. Please keep it up­ and get a win against Roma.

    Prince Edwin

    From prince edwin, on Wed 4 Mar 8:38AM

  15. West Brom are so sad. Another one year stay in the­ premiership and not one decent result to show for­ it.
    They must have the most unimaginative board in­ soccer history.

    From Frank, on Wed 4 Mar 8:33AM

  16. Looks like Bendtner's stopping practicing with a­ cow's ar$e and a banjo at Colney. For now.

    From paul s, on Wed 4 Mar 7:47AM

  17. arsenal are playing better games since Ashavin came on­ but have not been able to convert their chances­ that's why they need a striker that can convert­ half chances. Bendtner is a good striker but still­ needs a lot work (A LOT)
    Adebayor is a better striker­ but should be more confident of himself.
    My ideal team­ would have ashavin and fabregas in the center walcot­ and nasir on the wings and adebayo striking van persie­ supporting. (CRAZY Hey????!!!!!)
    Fabrega, Wallcot,­ Adebayor, Eduador, ROSICKY!!! please come back quickly

    From juweeeeeeee, on Wed 4 Mar 7:22AM

  18. Well done Gunners great performance especially from­ Bendtner who is normally the culprit when it comes to­ not scoring. Arshavin also keeps impressing imagine­ what othr teams have in store for them when his fully­ fit and playing regularly. Keep it up Arsenal the CL­ spot is there for the taking.

    From Dex Genius, on Wed 4 Mar 7:03AM

  19. come back early adebayor and show that kid how the real­ goal machine works!

    From afiq a, on Wed 4 Mar 2:00AM

  20. You know, a number of other great Arsenal players­ arrived at Arsenal and in their first or second season­ said "I should be number 1 on the team­ sheet"...who was it...Dennis Bergkamp, Thiery­ Henry, Alan Smith, Martin Keown, Mark Overmars, Patrick­ Viera, Emmanuel Petit and Ian Wright...And all of them­ became great players..What I don't get is, no one­ is being so desheartening about Gael Glichy who branded­ himself "the best left back Arsenal have ever­ had" last month!!!

    From EGK, on Wed 4 Mar 1:36AM
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