Arsenal 4-1 West Brom: Hat-trick hero Walcott makes case for Cup final start while Wilshere grabs wondergoal

Theo Walcott Arsenal Winger

Sometimes when Theo Walcott is in contract negotiations he gets to play up front – and sometimes when he gets to play up front the results can be quite spectacular.

It was one of those days at the Emirates Stadium. Walcott utterly demolished West Bromwich Albion with three goals in little more than half an hour.

He smashed in the first with a fabulous strike after only four minutes, poked in a second 10 minutes later and tapped in for the hat-trick before half-time.

Jack Wilshere added a screamer on the half-volley to extend the lead to four goals by the interval and Gareth McAuley pulled one back in the second half.

It was, however, Walcott’s day. With his pace, instinct and willing movement, he seems on days like this to be the perfect foil for Arsene Wenger’s fluent creative unit.

When all the planets are in line, he actually looks like he can be the another marksman like Thierry Henry.

It’s true there are times when he has not, such as up front for England in Italy, in March, but he was electric against West Brom, who had started last week by thumping champions Chelsea.

For Arsenal, it was pressure-free and Albion, despite four centre halves and a five-man midfield, were a brittle excuse of a team with flip-flops in the case and boarding passes in the pocket in the first 45 minutes.

Walcott did not let the chance slip by, delivering his argument for a place up front in the FA Cup final next week, a new contract and the chance to operate regularly through the centre, where he likes it best.

With Mesut Ozil, Wilshere, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla sliding passes between defenders, it suits his explosive pace and lethal finishing.

Perhaps more importantly, when space is congested, he is direct. He thinks of shooting, strikes the ball clean and early and usually hits the target.

His first goal was a fine example. West Brom had retreated to defend their penalty area, packing bodies around the ball, daring Arsenal to over-commit as they sought to pick a way through.

Walcott drifted slightly to the right, collected a pass on the half-turn and went for goal from an acute angle.

It flew perfectly into the top corner, glancing off the woodwork on the way. It was one of those days.

The second was more of a toe-poke this time from eight yards, pouncing on the loose ball when intricate approach play had been halted by an Albion boot.

Wenger must have delighted to see one of his strikers display the predatory instinct to prod a goal such as this into the net.

He has plenty of players capable of converting the beautiful ones.

Wilshere, for example, who made it 3-0 with a breath-taking half-volley from the edge of the penalty area.

It fell kindly and he fired it with his left foot past poor Boaz Myhill with terrific speed.

Both Wilshere and Walcott, after his second goal, made a beeline to the Arsenal bench, where they celebrated with fitness coach Declan Lynch, who has helped them through recent injury problems.

It is Lynch’s final game at the Emirates before he leaves to join Bath Rugby.

Walcott gave Joleon Lescott the slip to claim his hat-trick from close range after Cazorla had dragged a shot across the face of goal.

There might easily have been more. Myhill made series of splendid saves. His best were a finger-tip save at full-stretch which served only to delay Walcott’s hat-trick and an acrobatic effort late in the game to turn a curler from Aaron Ramsey against the bar.

Ramsey had earlier been denied by a post and shared a joke with Myhill, his Wales international team-mate.

West Brom managed to recover some of their composure and even a little pride with an improved performance in the second half.

McAuley headed Chris Brunt’s corner into an empty net after David Ospina left his line with the intention of punching clear, only to get nowhere near the ball.

It did not herald an unlikely comeback but Ospina’s error will perhaps supply Wenger with a reminder to buy another goalkeeper when the transfer market opens.

The Colombian ‘keeper almost committed another in stoppage time when he braced to punch Craig Gardner’s well-struck drive and deflected it into his own bar.

The Arsenal boss will have enjoyed the win but won’t be fooled.

His team have finished well in the Barclays Premier League and are Wembley bound, but they accrued fewer points than last season and there is work to do if they are to build a genuine title challenge next season. 

Source:dailymailsport.co.uk