setting up the winner v. Leicester, 2016. : Gunners

THERE’S YOUR FAIRYTALE!!!

Whenever an Arsenal fan talks about this winner from Welbeck, it’s always with a hint of melancholy. After this game the league was ours to lose, they’ll say. And it was, in a sense. But the Prem is much easier to lose than it is to win. Just ask Liverpool, or the Spuds. Regardless of the form that followed, this goal was a lovely moment for Welbs, who was playing his first competitive game since April 2015, and for the team as a whole, and it still puts a massive smile on my face whenever I watch it.

The assist from Özil is spot-on, too. Seems like every set-piece he took that season landed on someone’s head.

Fun facts about this match:

• This goal gave Özil his 17th assist in the league. This match was in February. In-sane.

• By my count, it was his 8th PL assist from a set-piece.

• Vardy won a sketchy penalty against Monreal, bringing him up to six penalties won in the league. Up to this point in the season, this was twice as many as any other player. In fact, he had won more penalties alone than each of the other 19 Premier League teams.

• Welbeck’s goal was Arsenal’s 100th goal scored in 90+ minutes of a Premier League game. (This was more than any other side at the time, though I don’t know if that’s still the case.)